Finding Comfort
by Flamegirl22
Summary: This is set in the summer after 5th year. Harry has just lost his Godfather and now he is trying to cope with that loss. Harry will find out he is not as alone as he thought as friends become family.
1. Chapter 1

Finding Comfort

Authors Notes: Hi all! I am not giving up on The Sixth Year. This came to me while I was writing the sixth chapter so I thought I would post. You should have the next chapter in a day or so. I'm trying to do a long chapter for you all. So enjoy and let me know what you think!

Later!

Harry was sitting out under a tree in the back yard of Grimulad Place. The sun was setting and he knew he shouldn't be out here but he really didn't care. He hurt so much. He was curled in a ball, sobbing. He was crying for Sirius. He wanted his Sirius. He killed his Sirius.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Come back, please, Siri, come back." He whimpered.

In the house Bill was standing at a window looking out into the back yard. He saw a small ball and knew it to be a person. The only person he knew that could go that small was Harry. He knew he was in pain and so he went out to see what he could do.

Suddenly Harry felt a hand on his shoulder. He glanced up and saw Bill. Bill was kneeling next to him worry on his face.

"Harry?" He whispered gently.

Harry let out a strangled sob. Bill picked the younger man up and held him. When he realized that they would be there for a while he moved so his back was against a tree. He pulled Harry to him. The older wizard maneuvered Harry so he was facing him from his lap. Harry's legs extended past bills hips.

Bill gently guided Harry's head to the base of his neck. One hand stayed there while the other moved to rub up and down his back. Then he started whispering in his ear.

"Harry, it's alright love. Everything will be okay. There are so many people who care about and love you. We will help you through this. Everything will be okay. I'm here. You're not alone. It's okay, cry it out. I'm here. You are not alone. You will never be alone again. We will never leave you alone again."

Bill began to rock gently. He was hoping the motion would send the boy to sleep. It wasn't healthy, this much crying. He was going to make himself sick. And he really didn't want to resort to using a potion. He knew he would if he had to. He hated to see this child in so much pain. He was like another little brother. It hurt to see him hurting so. He continued rocking and stroking his hand up and down his back. He started to sing softly. He always used to when one of his younger siblings would come to his room at night after a nightmare.

"You are my sunshine

My only sunshine

You make me happy

When skies are gray

You'll never know dear

How much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away"

Bill looked down and saw Harry opening and closing his eyes slowly. He was trying so hard to fight sleep. Bill smiled softly down at the angelic face. The child who could bear so much pain yet still has it in him to love unconditionally. Bill rocked slowly trying to push him over the edge. When he noticed that that wasn't working he started singing you'll be in my heart.

"Come stop your crying It will be alright Just take my hand Hold it tight I will protect you from all around you I will be here don't you cry"

Bill glanced down and looked at the precious bundle in his arms. He did not have a fair lot in life but he was struggling through. Harry whimpered softly at the lack of voice.

"For one so small you seem so strong my arms will hold you Keep you safe and warm this bond between us can't be broken I will be here don't you cry."

Harry was asleep. Bill stood slowly, trying not to jostle his self appointed charge. He walked quickly and silently to the house and up to his room. He placed the young man in his bed and removed his shoes and then transfigured his clothing into pajamas, and, after doing the same to himself, crawled in after him, pulling him close. He didn't want Harry to wake up alone. H looked down on the boy and gently reached out and brushed the tears off his face with his thumb. Bill whispered "nox" and the lights went out. He planted a light kiss on the famous scar, promising that he would be there for him for as long as he is needed, promising to never leave.

Fin


	2. Chapter 2

Originally this was supposed to be a short one shot. However recently I lost someone close to me so I thought I would revisit this and continue it. So, I'm going to make this a story of how Harry deals with the loss of Sirius. Bill and Harry will be the main characters still, however now that it is going to be longer there will be cameos from the others from the Potter Verse. As before I own nothing but the plot line nor am I making any money off of this. Last time I checked J. K. Rowling and the Warner Brothers owned Harry Potter and all that is related. I'm just playing with them for a little bit. Now, on to the story.

~Lynn~

Chapter 2

Harry woke slowly. The first thing he noticed was that he was being held to someone's chest. It was moving up and down in a deep even pattern that told him that his bed mate was still asleep. Harry opened his eyes, turned his head to the side more and looked up at the sleeping face of Bill Weasley. Harry was confused, he couldn't figure out why he was in Bill's bed. He closed his eyes and thought back to the last thing he remembered. His eyes snapped open as yesterday night came flooding back. Harry felt his face heat up as he remembered what had happened.

'Great.' Harry thought cynically. 'I just made a fool of myself in front of a man I look up to. A man I respect and look to as an older brother. He must think I'm such a wimp. Great job Potter! Really, way to make a fool of yourself! You'll be lucky if he will even look at you after this!'

Harry shook his head very slightly, trying to stop that train of thought.

"Harry? Are you ok?" Bill asked gently looking down at Harry.

Harry looked up at Bill and searched his eyes looking for some sign of revulsion or condemnation. He was surprised to find none.

"Harry?" Bill prodded gently.

"Huh?" Harry asked ineloquently.

"How are you?" Bill asked again, still patient, but a little worried.

"Oh, uh, I'm ok." Harry said looking away from Bill.

Bill sat them both up, squeezed Harry gently then released him. "We are probably the last to get up. Why don't you go take a shower and I'll meet you in the kitchen for some breakfast." Bill suggested as he got up and went looking for clean clothing in his dresser.

Harry swung his legs out of Bills' bed and stood up. He glanced down at himself and wondered where the pajamas came from. Then it dawned on him that Bill must have transfigured his clothing, at least he hoped it was done with transfiguration.

"See you in the kitchen." Harry said quietly, awkwardly.

"There is no hurry." Bill said as Harry left the room.

Harry made his way back the hall to his room. He couldn't believe what he had done. He couldn't believe that he had lost it. 'You are fifteen, almost sixteen years old; you should not be breaking down like this. You need to be stronger than this. You are Potter! What the Hell happened? How could you lose it like that? If you had to break down why couldn't you have done it where you could not bee seen?' Harry slammed his way into his room anger coursing through his veins. He jerkily got what he needed for a shower and headed for the bathroom. He went through the motions automatically, his mind had shut down. He finished quickly, returned his clothing to his room, then went down to the kitchen. He opened the door to see Bill making a simple breakfast of oatmeal, fruit and bacon.

"Good morning Harry. Why don't you grab us some bowls, cutlery, plates and some glasses." Bill said from his place in front of the stove.

Harry just nodded then gathered what Bill had requested and set the table. He dropped into one of the seats at the table while absently watching Bill. Bill looked up at Harry and his face changed to one of concern. Harry saw the change but he couldn't bring himself to care. He wondered where everyone else was but did not ask, not caring enough to bother. His eyes followed Bill as he waved his wand to bring the food over to the table. Bill took the seat across from Harry and served himself some breakfast. Harry remained still, his plate, bowl and glass unfilled. He watched Bill start to eat then his gaze drifted to the side and he stared at the wall blankly.

"Harry, you must eat." Bills voice cut through the silence.

Harry dragged his gaze back to the older man. "I'm not really hungry Bill." His quiet voice responded.

"I do not care. You will eat. You cannot afford to lose any weight." Was Bills firm reply.

"I told you, I am not hungry." Harry said again.

"And I told you, I do not care. You will sit here until you eat something. I mean it Harry. I understand you are grieving, I do, but you cannot stop eating as a way to deal with that. It is not healthy. You know Sirius would not want you doing this to yourself." Bill said as he filled Harry's bowl with oatmeal and his glass with juice. "You are not leaving until you eat all of that." Bill kept his voice calm but firm.

"I'm not hungry Bill." Harry said again.

"I know you don't feel hungry but your body needs the nutrients." Bill explained patiently.

Harry picked up the spoon and played with the lumpy mass in the bottom of the bowl.

"It would make me happy if you would eat it." Bill said quietly.

Emerald green eyes locked with sapphire blue. Harry saw the honesty in the blue depths, took a breath that caught slightly, scooped up a spoonful of light cream colored sludge and put it in his mouth. His eyes never left the ones across from him as he ate the bowl of oatmeal. When he was finished he looked down at the table, nausea washing through him. With a slightly shaking hand he picked up the glass of orange juice and took a sip, hoping to sooth his stomach. It helped slightly so he took another sip.

"Thank you Harry." Bill said.

"Sure." came the slightly sullen reply.

"Do you want anything else?" Bill asked.

Harry threw him an incredulous look.

"I didn't think you would but I thought I should ask before I cleaned up." Bill said a hit of a chuckle in his voice.

Harry scowled at him.

"I'm going to finish cleaning up in here. We need to talk for a bit so I will meet you in the parlor on the second floor in twenty minutes. I expect you to be there and not make me come find you. Do you understand?"

Harry felt panic flood through him as Bill started speaking. He nodded his head in response to Bills question.

"A verbal response pleas." Bill said.

"Yeah, I understand." Harry said quietly before leaving.

Harry made his way up the stairs to the second floor. He went into the parlor and curled up on one of the armchairs. He pulled his knees to his chest and laid his head on his knees. He wrapped his arms around his legs. Harry closed his eyes against the sudden sting of tears.

"Damn it, get a hold of yourself Potter. You are stronger than this. You have had to be. You cannot start losing it now. " he muttered to himself.

As he was waiting for Bill to arrive he allowed his mind to wander.

_He was laying on his bed back at the Dursleys. It was early evening and he was watching the colors play across his ceiling. His sheet was hot under his back, the room stifling. But Harry didn't care about the heat enough to get up and open the window. The plate of food his Aunt had shoved through the cat flap an hour ago was making the tiny space smell like stale grease. For the first time that he could remember they were feeding him properly and he could not bring himself to touch it. The mere thought of putting food in his stomach sent it rolling. He knew what he was doing was stupid as well as dangerous but he did not care. He knew Sirius would not want him to react like this but he couldn't bring himself to change his behavior. He forced his eyes away from the ceiling and over to the calendar. He had been here for almost a month already. He had lost weight in the four weeks since school let out. He could now count every rib and vertebra. His collar bones jutted out as did his hip bones. While never at a healthy weight this was getting dangerous. He had lost the little muscle he had put on from Quidditch. He couldn't remember the last time he had showered. The only reason he had moved from this bed was to use the toilet and write his letters every three days. _

_Harry's door opened with a bang as his Uncle stomped through. He stormed right into the meal his Aunt had left. Harry watched as his face turned red with rage._

"_We have the decency to feed you and you waste it?" he thundered. "How dare you waste our food?! You worthless waste of space!" Vernon made his way over to the bed where Harry was while he yelled at the boy. "You ungrateful little whelp! If those freak friends of yours hadn't threatened me I would give you a thrashing you wouldn't soon forget!" his uncle grabbed him by the upper arm and dragged him off the bed. "You have been laying about for the last four weeks! When was the last time you showered boy? They are coming to get you in a few hours and I will not have them thinking that we refused to allow you to shower." While Vernon was yelling he drug Harry down the stairs, out the back door and flung him away from him. Harry landed in a heap on the grass. He noticed the hoes, a bucket of soapy water and an old, tattered blanket. Harry was hit full force with the hose. Harry shivered as the ice cold water hit him. He watched as his uncle set the hose down and advanced on him with the bucket in hand. Harry started to move but his uncle's voice stopped him. _

"_If you so much as move a foot I will strip you bare and paddle you regardless of what the other freaks say. They said I cannot mistreat you a paddling is not mistreatment. So stay put, unless you would like your backside on display for the neighborhood." Vernon growled._

_Harry stopped trying to move away. His uncle grabbed his right arm and pulled it away from his body with enough force to almost pull it out of its socket. Harry watched his face as it registered that he pulled too hard. He lowered it slightly then did the same to the other arm. _

"_Keep them there." he growled. _

_Harry didn't move. He watched as his uncle picked up the bucket and tossed the soapy water on him. Harry spluttered as most of it caught him in the face. A bath brush hit the top of his head as Vernon threw it at him. _

"_Scrub and do it well or I will do it and I will scrub you raw." he ordered._

_Harry started scrubbing. He hadn't realized until then how dirty he felt. He wished he would have taken a shower. His uncle's gruff "that's enough" was the only warning he got before he was hit full force with the cold water again. Once all the soap was off of him his uncle stopped spraying him. Harry caught the blanket as it was thrown at him._

"_Wrap that around yourself and strip." he demanded._

_Harry looked at him and opened his mouth to tell him to go to Hell when his uncle cut him off._

"_Wrap it around yourself, take your damn clothing off, and get back inside! I will not have you dripping all through the house! If you would have taken care of this yourself like any half intelligent person we would not be doing this!" as he yelled his hand strayed to his belt buckle out of habit but he jerked it back as if burned. Harry watched this as he pulled off his shirt, pants, underwear and socks. He left them in a heap on the grass as he went back inside to find clean clothing. _

_'So they decided to come get me did the?' Harry thought bitterly as he got dressed. _

_He started throwing stuff in his trunk, not really paying attention to what was going where. As long as he got it in he was fine with it. He dug out the stuff from under the floor boards and put that away too. Harry looked around then laid back down on his bed satisfied that he had everything worth taking. Harry closed his eyes but then snapped them back open as Sirius' face flashed through his mind. The apathy long gone he got up and paced. Five strides across, five strides back. He did that again and again. He looked up when a knock sounded on his door. He knew it had to be his escort because no one living in the house would knock. He ignored it and kept pacing, anger racing through his veins. The knock sounded again, louder this time. Again, it was ignored._

"_Harry if you do not open the door I will." Remus's voice was concerned with a hint of annoyance._

_Harry ignored the voice too. He kept pacing. 'How dare they?' he thought. "They think they can just ignore me until they decide I'm worth coming to collect. Well, that's not working for me! Forget them. I don't need them. I'm fine here. I'm fine on my own.' These bitter thoughts ran through Harry's mind._

"_Harry I am coming in." said the voice from the other side of the door._

_Harry watched the knob turn and the door sung open. Remus stood on the other side of the door. "Was there a reason you would not answer me?" Remus asked._

_Harry ignored him._

"_Harry. I would like an answer." Remus said, voice strict._

_Again Harry ignored him. He looked out the window on the other side of the room._

_Remus strode over to Harry took him by the shoulders and turned him. He shook the boy once, slightly._

"_Harry James Potter. I want an answer from you, young man, now." his voice was low and angry._

_Harry wouldn't look at him._

_Remus took a deep breath and let it out before saying softly "I know you miss him, I do too, however that does not give you the right to be disrespectful. Now, I asked you a question, I would like an answer please."_

"_I do not want to go back to HQ." was the sullen reply._

"_I am sorry about that, but there is nothing I can do. That is where Professor Dumbledore wants you. I know it will be hard but you will not be alone. Now, why don't we get your stuff and get out of here before it gets much later. Everyone wants to see you. Your friends can't wait to see you again." his voice took on a slightly reproachful tone as he continued. "They were worried and upset when you wouldn't write to them. They deserve better than that Harry James."_

"_Why?" Harry burst out. "Why is it so bad that I took some time to try to process what happened? All they could really do was tell me that it would get better. I know that. Right now it does not feel like it will, but I do know it will. That's all they could say. None of them know what it's like Remus! And I hope that they never do! None of them know what it's like to lose the one person you could rely on! The one person who is in your corner, unconditionally. Hermione has both of her parents and it is obvious that they love her dearly. Ron has his parents and his brothers and sister. They love him. He has four older brothers he can go to for support, for strength when he has none left." His voice lowered to an almost pleading note. "I do not begrudge them that. I don't. I understand the value of being able to stand on your own two feet, knowing you can depend on yourself to make it through. But that doesn't make it any less lonely, any less hard. I know I have some hard years ahead of me. I know I'm going to have to know how to shoulder a mans burden and I'm going to have to find myself equal to the task or there'll be no hope left. I know. But that doesn't make it any easier. I know, it's not supposed to be easy. Life is hard, war is harder. I know, I do." Harry turned away as tears stung his eyes. "I just…God Remus it hurts. It hurts so damn much it feels like I can't even draw a deep breath. And it's not going to get better any time soon. And then I start to wonder why I bother, but then his face flashes in my mind and I remember. I remember what he sacrificed so I could go on to do what has to be done. He gave his life so I could live. So I could have a chance at life. I did not ask him to, I did not want him to, but I will honor it. I will honor the sacrifice he made, the sacrifices my parents made, because they deserve it. They deserve to have their last acts, acts of love; honored, respected, treasured and fulfilled. And I will do so." Harry finished in a fierce voice even as the tears flowed down his hollowed cheeks. _

_Harry felt Remus place a hand on his shoulder and he shrugged it off angrily. He reached up and brushed away the tears. He felt the hand on his shoulder again. He jerked his shoulder out of Remus' grasp and growled out "do not touch me!"_

"_Harry, I just want to help. Please let me help." Remus said._

"_You cannot." he said quietly._

"_Harry, please look at me." the older man asked._

_Something in the other mans voice compelled Harry to turn and look at him. Remus reached out and touched Harry's face gently. Harry started to pull back but Remus took hold of one of his shoulders and with his free hand grasped his chin, bringing it up to look in his eyes. _

"_You seem to be under the illusion that now that Sirius is gone you are alone. That is not true. You still have me. You have the Order. You are not alone." Remus said quietly while looking intently into Harry's eyes._

"_What are you talking about Remus?" the boy said in a slightly bitter tone. "I never had you. You were my teacher and a friend of my parents, never anything more than that. I didn't even know about you until I was thirteen! Then when you were done at Hogwarts you were gone. You never even attempted to contact me again. You were just gone. You abandoned me like I meant nothing, like I was nothing special to you... Like I was no longer worth your time. As for the Order; they do what they do because Dumbledore orders it. Because I am the only hope to end this war. They don't care about me; they care about ending this war. Nothing more, never anything more. If we have to go can we just get on with it?" Harry said jerking out of his hold and turning away. _

_Remus didn't say anything for a bit then he seemed to shake himself out of the daze he was in and said, "yes, you're right. We need to be going, but Harry, this conversation is not over. We will talk more later."_

"_There is nothing left to talk about." Harry said quietly._

_Remus sighed before saying "are all your belongings packed?"_

_Harry just gave a curt nod._

"_Alright then, we are portkeying out. I've got your trunk, you get Hedwig and hold on to the sock." Remus said picking up the end of Harrys' trunk. _

_Harry walked over to his desk, picked up Hedwig's cage, came back to Remus and took hold of the brightly colored sock._

"_3, 2, 1." Remus said and activated the portkey._

_Harry landed on his knees in the foyer of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. He looked up to see Remus still on his feet, his trunk on the floor next to the older man. Remus held out a hand to help Harry off but Harry ignored it and pushed himself to his feet muttering an "I'm sorry girl." to Hedwig._

"_Come on. Everyone is in the kitchen having dinner." Remus said as he turned to walk down the hall. "Leave Hedwig here you can collect her later. She will be fine here for a little while."_

_Harry set the cage down on top of his trunk and stuck a finger through the bars to stroke her gently. "I'll be back as soon as I can girl. I promise. I'm sorry about just leaving you here." he whispered before reluctantly following Remus. _

_They walked into the kitchen to see all of the Weasley family, minus Percy, and most of the Order of the Phoenix. _

"_Harry!" Hermione shrieked as she got up and ran to give him a hug._

"_Hello Hermione." Harry said as she squeezed him in a tight hug._

_Harry allowed it for a few seconds then he pulled out of the hug. _

"_Oh Harry, how are you? We were so worried when you wouldn't write us back. Why didn't you write us back?" Hermione demanded._

"_I wasn't really in the mood to talk." Harry said in a monotone._

"_You still should have written." Hermione said bossily._

"_So what I want, what I need, doesn't matter?" Harry muttered under his breath._

"_Of course it does Harry! How could you say such a thing?" Ginny demanded scandalized. _

_Ron and Hermione were gaping at him as the rest of the room looked on in confusion, not having heard what Harry said. Harry just closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. When he opened his eyes he said in a hard tone "look, I'm sorry if my silence upset you. I'm sorry if I hurt you by not writing to you individually, but you knew I was ok. I sent letter to the Order every three days as ordered. You knew I was ok."_

"_But you still should have written to us!" Ginny said angrily._

"_Why?" Harry demanded. "Why should I have? I was not in the mood to talk. I was not in the mood to read you telling me that it would get better. I know that! And quite frankly after I knew none of you suffered lasting effects from the DOM I really didn't care about what you were doing. I didn't. That may be wrong of me, but I just…I couldn't pretend that I cared and I didn't want to hurt you by being short with you or by telling you that I didn't care. So I thought it was better that I simply not write." _

"_We were worried about you Mate." Ron said quietly reaching out a hand to place on his shoulder. "I was worried. I, I can't even begin to comprehend what you're going through, how much pain you're in. Just know that I'm here. I may not understand, but I can listen." Ron gently drew Harry into a hug. "I am so sorry." he whispered into Harrys' hair. "I've pulled you through a lot in the past five years or so and I'll help you get through this too. I'm not going anywhere. I promise. I know it's not the same, but you're not alone. And you should know by now it's not because you are the BWL or our Savior or whatever they are calling you these days. It's because you are my best friend, my brother and there is no way in Hell I am letting you go through something like this by yourself. I'm just not." _

_Harry nodded against Ron's shoulder. He started to tremble slightly as he rasped "it hurts Ron. It hurts so damn much and it feels like it's never going to end. I don't want to believe that he is gone. Ron he can't be gone. He just can't be. I still need him so much."_

_There was nothing to say so Ron just held him tighter as he felt the tears through his shirt. He rested his chin on top of Harrys' head and just held on. "I know." Ron murmured. "I know, it's not fair, it's not right, but Harry he is gone. You cannot allow yourself to believe otherwise. That will only hurt you more in the end. You have to face it, but you don't have to face it alone. I'm here, as is Bill, Charlie and the Twins. We'll get you through this. We will. And I promise, some day you will be able to remember him without it hurting. You will be able to smile when you think of him instead of crying. It'll always ache, as you told me it does when you think about your parents, but remember you can hear stories about them without crying…you can laugh and think of them with love, without tears. Give yourself time, let yourself grieve and in time it will get better." _

_Harry pulled back and looked at him with shock on his face. "Wh-where is all of this coming from?" Harry asked ignoring the fact that he was holding back sobs. _

"_Did you really think I didn't know this would affect you? While Hermione and Ginny were freaking out about you not writing back, I was doing something productive."_

"_What?" Harry asked._

"_I was reading books on how to help you deal with Sirius' death." Ron said gently pushed Harry away from him and led him over to the table and sat down beside him. He ignored the others in the room who were looking at him with astonishment and kept talking to Harry gently. "How to help you get through the next year or so. Because of them I understand the grief process a little better and have an idea of what it is you are experiencing. You're my best friend, my brother, do you honestly think I wouldn't do everything in my power to help you through what is going to be one of the hardest times in your life?" Ron asked Harry seriously._

"_No," he let out a half laugh half sob. "it doesn't surprise me at all. You've always been there when I needed you. You've always known what to say. No, the fact that you would do this for me does not surprise me at all. I-I don't know how to thank you for this."_

"_No thanks are necessary Mate," Ron said his eyes bright with tears for his friend._

_Harry's eyes widened as he reached out a trembling hand to his friends face. "Ron?" he whispered._

"_It's ok Harry." Ron said with a sad smile. _

_Ron reached out and pulled Harry closer to him then pushed his head down onto his shoulder. "You're family, and when family hurts, you hurt for them. It's as simple as that."_

_Harry looked at as much of the room as he could without moving his head. Ron's hand on the back of it kept it in place. It was comforting, and he needed it so badly right then that he did not pull away. He could see tears on the faces or in the eyes of most everyone in the room. He could not see Hermione or Ginny but he could see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were both crying, Mrs. Weasley harder than her husband. Bill, Charlie and the Twins had tears in their eyes but when their eyes met they offered him comforting smiles. Kingsley and Mad-Eye had sad looks on their faces and when Harry met their eyes he saw the promise of it getting better, of being able to count on them for help. Tonks was crying softly but changed her hair color to her trade mark pink when Harry looked at her. She was the first to speak. _

"_Ron is right Harry. It's ok to give yourself time to grieve for him. It's ok to give yourself time to heal. He loved you very much. Hold on to that, and in the times you can't live for yourself, live for him."_

_Bill got up and came around the table to crouch beside both younger brothers. He reached out a hand to stroke both red and black hair. He looked at Ron first and said softly "I am so proud of you little brother."_

_Ron smiled at him and said "it's nothing you, Charlie, Fred or George wouldn't have done for me."_

"_You're right, and it's nothing we wouldn't have done for our youngest brother." Bill said before looking at Harry. His eyes softened even more when they landed on Harry. "Harry, you are as much our brother as Ron is. You're our youngest brother and there is nothing we wouldn't do for you. Ron is right, when family hurts you hurt for them. I've obviously never lost a parent but I remember the pain when Uncle Fabian and Uncle Gideon died. It's different when it's because of murder. It's sudden, there is no time to prepare for it. No time to brace for it. You lost someone you love, I'm not even sure you understood you loved him, and that hurts. It always does. Pain like that, it's fast in hitting, brutal while it's here and slow in leaving. But it's also rare. Pain that debilitating is rare, I promise it is. It does get better, that I can promise too. The pain does fade. There is always a dull ache but not the blinding pain it is now. You have us. You have Ron, Charlie, Fred, George and me." Bill said his voice gentle and coaxing. _

_Harry glanced at the other Weasley brothers as Bill said their names to see them nodding. He looked back at Bill when he started speaking again._

"_We won't let you go through this alone. There are going to be times when you feel alone, scared, angry, sad, hurt, abandoned and so many other emotions. That is ok. It's normal, everyone goes through it at some point, to some degree. But you have to remember to express them in healthy ways. Look at me, because I need you to hear this. I need you to really hear it." Bill said his voice taking on a stern note at the end as he gently held Harry's chin and looked into his eyes before continuing sternly. "Hurting yourself is never ok. Not eating is hurting yourself. That is not ok. Deliberately not sleeping is hurting yourself. That is not ok. I understand you probably have nightmares, which is normal. They are not pleasant but they are normal. That doesn't mean you can't handle things. It's a normal part of your psychological make-up. You experienced some bad things and you are going to have issues sleeping. If you wake up in the middle of the night from one and you cannot or do not want to go back to sleep wake up Ron or come find Charlie or one of the twins or me and we will stay up with you. There is no reason for you to sit alone in the middle of the night upset or afraid. No reason at all. Taking your anger out on other people is not ok. You need someone to yell at come find me or Charlie. We can take your anger, but we will only let you go so far. Don't yell at your friends, they don't deserve it. Charlie and I understand that at some point the anger is going to set in and you are going to have to work through that, we want to help you, but first you have to decide that you want help and then you have to let us help. I realize that this is a strange concept for you, but try it. If you don't like it you can stop. I just, I want to make sure you really understand that there are people here who care about you and who will help you, regardless of the hour or what they are doing at the time. Charlie, Fred, George, Ron and I will either stop what we are doing or get to a point where we can to do whatever it is you need us to do. We are for whatever you need. If it's someone to talk to, a distraction, a shoulder to cry on, or just some to sit with so you don't have to be alone, whatever you need. Please don't forget that little brother." Bill ran his thumb over Harry's cheek before standing up and going back to his seat beside Charlie. _

"_Everything he said Harry goes for me too." Charlie said looking at Harry with fondness._

"_You know" Fred started._

_You can" George continued._

"_Count on us Kiddo." Fred and George finished together._

_Harry gave Fred, George, Charlie and Bill a small smile and said a soft "thanks."_

_Harry took a deep breath and pulled away from Ron. Ron could see the appreciation and love shining in Harry's eyes and he smiled softly at him. _

Harry was pulled out of his thoughts as someone cleared their throat. He looked up to see Bill standing there. He offered a tentative smile at the older man.

"You with me now Harry?" Bill asked in a gently teasing voice.

"Yeah, sorry Bill."

"It's okay Harry. Do you mind telling me what you were thinking about?"

"Um, just about last night. What you and Ron said."

"You believe us right? You believe that we will be there for you?" Bill asked.

"Yeah, yeah and I'm-I'm willing to try. I-" Harry took a deep breath. "I don't think I can do this alone. I've heard all my life that I am on my own. That no one would help me. It's odd…to think that people are actually here, that they want to help me. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it." Harry said contemplatively.

"That is related to what I wanted to talk to you about." Bill said his voice serious.

"What do you mean?"

Bill summoned a chair and sat down across from Harry. "I want you to be honest with me. No matter what you say it will not change how I feel about you. You are my little brother in all but blood and name. That will not change. Do you understand?" Bill said looking at Harry intently.

"Yes." Harry said hesitantly.

"You do not sound sure. What don't you understand or are you unsure about?" Bill asked soothingly.

"I just, I'm having a hard time accepting that you and Charlie and the twins care that much about me. I know Ron does. He's told me often enough that he sees me as his younger brother. I just never realized that the rest of you did too." Harry said looking at the ground.

"Hey," Bill said reaching out and lifting Harry's chin. "After the past you had that is understandable. It is nothing to be ashamed of. I, we know it will take time. We understand that. We are not trying to pressure you into anything. We just want you to know that Sirius wasn't the only one who cares about you, the only one who loves you. I was thinking about something and I quietly talked to some people now I want to know what you think. Sirius didn't specify a guardian for you in his will. He said as long as they had a steady job, knew enough to keep you safe and would teach you what you need to know about our world the choice was yours. I want to apply for your guardianship, is this something you want? Do you want to live with me?" Bill asked in a quiet, serious voice.

Harry's eyes widened in shock as he stared at Bill, unable to comprehend what he had heard. "Wh-what?" Harry stammered.

"I want to be your guardian; do you want me to be?" Bill asked again patiently.

"I, I don't know what to say." Harry said looking upset.

"Hey, it's ok. Calm down, it's ok." Bill said running his thumb over Harry's cheek gently. "It's ok. Whatever your answer is, that's ok. It will not change how I feel about you. Harry, you don't have to decide now. Think about it, take as much time as you need. Just know I have the paperwork and I am ready to fight for you. There are others in the Order who are willing to take you in. Mum and Dad are two of them. They see you as a son, but you don't see them as parents."

Harry's eyes widened again and he started to protest but Bill spoke over him.

"Harry that is ok. It is. It's ok that you can't see them as parents. Just calm down. Everything is going to be ok." Bill said soothingly. "Why don't you take some time, think about it, talk to Ron and the twins about it. See what they have to say. You should know that Charlie has the paperwork too. The only problem with one of us assuming guardianship is that we are too young to really be considered your parents, but I don't think you are looking for another parent, are you?"

"No, not really, at this point in my life I don't want to be adopted. A guardianship would last until I'm of age right? Then the relationship we have after that is up to us, right?" Harry said quietly.

"Yes, that's it exactly. Take some time and think about it. I don't need an answer right away. Take all the time you need." Bill said.

"Are people I don't want to going to try to get guardianship?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"Some might try, however as you are almost of age your opinion will be taken into account and if you are really against it they will be denied." Bill answered.

"I need some time to think." Harry looked up at Bill unsure.

"Harry, I told you that is fine. Make sure you talk to some people about it too, ok? Remember, no matter what you decide you are still my little brother and I still love you." Bill whispered the last part looking at Harry.

Harry's eyes filled up with tears as the words Bill whispered registered.

"That is the first time you have heard that, isn't it?" Bill inquired compassionately.

Harry just nodded, unable to speak.

Bill reached out and tugged him into his arms. He pushed the boy's head down onto his shoulder and stroked his hair gently.

"It's ok." he murmured. "I'm sorry that is the first time you remember hearing that. Most of us assume you know that we love you. You are hard not to love. Almost impossible not to, really. It's going to be ok, it doesn't feel like it right now, I know, but it will be."

Harry pulled back and smiled at Bill. "Thank you."

Bill returned the smile then said "go, get out of here. Go find Ron and try to do something to take your mind off of everything for a bit."

Harry stood up and started walking toward the door before stopping and looking back at Bill, insecurity in his eyes.

"Whenever you need me, I'll be here. If I'm at work, Charlie is here. He racked up over a year of vacation time and he is using it now. He will always be here for you too. If you can't find me, go to Charlie and he will either help you, find me for you or get me from work should you really need me." Bill said calmingly.

Wit a last nod to Bill Harry walked out the door. He went down to the parlor on the first floor to start looking for Ron there. He peaked into the room to see a few of the adults talking. He silently snuck away before being noticed. He decided to check their bedroom next. Harry hurried up the stair to the room they share and looked in there. Ron was not in there so he went up to the third floor sitting room. He found Ron there reading a book on battle strategy.

"Hey Ron." Harry said.

Ron looked up and smiled when he saw Harry. "Come in but shut the door. I don't want to deal with Hermione or Ginny right now. I'm sure you don't either."

Harry closed the door and came further into the room. Ron beckoned him over to the couch he was sitting on. Harry slowly came over and sat beside him.

"What's going on Mate?" Ron asked seriously. "You look… upset about something. You know you can talk to me about anything."

"I just, a lot's been thrown at me and I don't know what to do." Harry said sounding lost.

Ron reached out and pulled him against his side, keeping his arm over his shoulders. "Ok, so tell me what's going on and we'll go from there ok?"

"Bill, he asked to see me. That's who I was with last night." Harry started.

"I was wondering where you were. I was worried." Ron said slightly reproachful.

"Sorry." Harry whispered laying his head on Ron's shoulder.

"It's ok. Why were you with Bill last night?" Ron asked absentmindedly running his hand through Harry's dark hair.

"He found me crying under one of the trees outside." Harry said knowing what was coming.

"What on earth were you doing outside? Don't you know how dangerous that was?" Ron scolded.

"I know it was stupid. I shouldn't have left the house."

"Don't do it again." Ron said then smiled his forgiveness.

"Ron, he wants to apply for guardianship of me." Harry said quickly.

Ron was quiet for a minute then said with a smile "that's great Mate! He would be good for you. You deserve to have someone who will take care of you for a change. Someone who can be there for you. I'm happy for you."

"Ron, I-I haven't said yes yet." Harry said.

"What? Why? Harry what's stopping you?" Ron asked concerned. "This is what you have always wanted, a family. Someone who will take care of you, help you, support you. What's wrong?"

Harry pulled away from Ron and pushed to his feet and all but darted across the room.

"Harry?" Ron asked from the sofa. "What's wrong? Talk to me, please, tell me what's going on in that head of yours."

"I'm scared Ron." He said shame coloring his voice.

"Harry what are you afraid of exactly."

"Everyone who is responsible for me personally dies. My parents and Sirius are dead because of me and I don't want that to happen to Bill or anyone else for that matter. I can't take one more death on my head, more blood on my hands. I just can't."

"First of all your parents deaths are not your fault. They Are Not. Do you understand me little brother? They are not." Ron said getting up and walking over to him. "Second Sirius' death was not your fault either. Yes you made a mistake, but you did not cast the Killing Curse at him. You did not cast the curse that sent him through the Veil. It was not your fault." Ron grabbed Harry's shoulders and turned him to look at him. "It was not your fault. None of it. Do you understand? I know it will take some time for you to believe it but it was not. I will keep telling you that until you believe it. I will not allow you to believe that lie. I will not. Put the blame where it belongs; on You-Know-Who and Bellatrix. Not on yourself. It was not you fault. You are dishonoring Sirius's memory by blaming yourself and you need to stop."

Harry looked up at Ron with tired eyes.

"I'm so tired Ron. I'm so sick of this and it hasn't even really begun yet." Harry whispered in defeat.

Ron pulled him against his chest, tucked his head under his chin and held him, tears stinging his eyes.

AN: Ok folks here is another chapter. I know it has been a while since I have posted anything. I had 3 surgeries in the last year and I just didn't feel like writing. I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you think if you have the time. Oh, I really need a beta reader so if you are interested review or PM me. For those of you who care I am working on The Sixth Year so a chapter should be up soon. I need a beta reader for that one too. Thanks for reading and hopefully you'll be back next chapter!

~Lynn~

Aka Flamegirl22


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes: I'm sorry this chapter has taken so long to get out. It was not really flowing the way I wanted it to but overall I'm pretty satisfied with it. There is mild language in this chapter as well as a bit of violence in Harry's dream. It is not bad and it's definitely not above the Teen rating but I thought I should warn you.

Disclaimer: Once again I own nothing but the plot.

Now, on to the story! I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 3

Ron pushed Harry back far enough to peer into his face, after he felt Harry's trembling taper off a bit.

"Harry?" Ron asked searching the damp emerald green eyes.

"Yeah?" Harry asked, his voice rough.

He brought a hand up to quickly swipe at his eyes. Ron caught his wrist and held it gently.

"Are you ready to sit back down and talk about this?"

Harry looked up as the concern in Ron's voice registered.

"Do I have a choice?" Harry asked weakly.

"Of course you do, Har. I'm not going to force you to talk if you really don't want to. I think it would help, but if you are not ready I won't force it." Ron said quietly.

Harry looked at him silently for several minutes before he moved over to the sofa they had been sitting on.

"Okay." Harry whispered, defeated.

The red head offered a comforting smile as he came over and sat beside him. Harry watched Ron as he leaned back against the cushions and stretched his long legs out in front of him. Harry pulled his own up to his chest and rested his chin on his knees.

"So, why are you hesitating about saying yes to Bill taking over your guardianship?" Ron asked a slightly confused look on his face.

"I-I don't know why really." Harry started haltingly. "I… just something about it… I…" Harry tried, getting frustrated when he couldn't express what he was feeling.

"Okay." Ron said soothingly. "Just calm down. It's okay Harry. Just take your time. There's no hurry. You can tell me anything Harry. It's okay." Ron reached out, grasped Harry's hand and ran his thumb over the back of it gently. Harry relaxed at the comforting touch. He took a deep breath and let it out shakily.

"I'm afraid." Harry murmured shamefully. He wouldn't look at Ron but was staring at the empty fireplace.

"Harry, look at me." Ron said insistently.

Harry shook his head before closing his eyes. He didn't want to know what Ron was going to say. He didn't want to hear that he was being irrational. He knew that but it didn't make the clawing fear go away. It didn't stop the panic that was flooding through him. It didn't make the uncertainty any better. He was afraid and he wasn't used to fear he couldn't battle, fear that came from inside him rather than outside him. Harry's breathing picked up a bit but he fought to control it. He started to tremble a bit. He jerked his hand out of Ron's, stood up and hurried out of the room. He heard Ron calling his name in concern but he ignored it. He ran up several flights of stairs and into an unused bedroom. Harry walked over to the far corner, leaned against the wall and slid down to sit on the floor. Tears were falling unchecked down his cheeks. Sobs were trying to break free but he held them back. He pulled his knees to his chest and rested his head on them. 'What am I going to do?' Harry thought chaotically. 'I want to trust Bill. I want to believe that he means what he says. I want to believe that he loves me, that he would take care of me but… how often did Uncle Vernon say that he wouldn't hurt me again, only to do it again as soon as he could come up with a reason. But the neglect hurt worse, I think. At least when Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon were yelling at me or hitting me I knew that they knew I was there. I knew they saw me. That was better than being locked in a room or a cupboard and ignored. I didn't like being hit or belittled but…' Harry shook his to clear that useless train of thought. 'I know Bill wouldn't do that to me. I know he wouldn't hurt me on purpose, he is a good man, I know he is. So why am I so afraid that he will? He says he cares and he's never been anything but kind to me. I haven't known him for very long but Ron loves the idea. Ron would never tell me to do something that would hurt me. Ron knows his brother; he knows he is a good man. A man he would trust to look after me. A man he looks up to and he knows I could as well. I'm so confused and scared but I'm not supposed to be. I'm supposed to be strong and in control all the time! But Merlin it hurts.'

Harry finally gave into the sobs. He lowered his forehead to the top of his knees and just let himself cry. He was tired of trying to fight it. He was tired of being strong, of being fearless. He wanted someone to lean on, someone to be strong for him. But he was afraid of putting that much trust in someone. Afraid of giving someone, even someone as good and kind as Bill, that much power over him. Once he gave someone that, his trust and power over him, he would lose some of the control over his life. He was so absorbed in his pain that he didn't hear the door open or the pair of feet that crossed the room to sit on either side of him. Harry's head snapped up when he felt a strong arm go around his shoulders before being pulled sideways to rest against an equally strong chest.

He looked up and saw Fred holding him. He turned his head when he felt a hand stroking up and down his back.

"It's okay little brother. We've got you. We're here. You're not alone. Shhh it's okay." George murmured into the side of his head.

Fred lowered his head to rest his cheek on top of Harry's messy mop of black hair. Occasionally he would turn his head to place a gentle kiss on the crown of Harry's head. He rocked back and forth slightly. George kept talking to him softly. Harry slowly calmed down until he was laying limply in Fred's arms, taking in shuddering gasps.

"Better now?" Fred asked gently, speaking for the first time.

"Yeah." Harry said, voice husky from crying.

"You have Ron in a right state." George said in a lightly scolding tone. You shouldn't have run out on him like that."

Harry looked up into two sets of slightly reproving blue eyes. He lowered his own as a light blush spread across his face. "I'm sorry." he mumbled. "I didn't mean to worry anyone."

"We know." Fred said gently. "We do need to work on his running thing though. You cannot run every time you don't want to talk about something. Ron wouldn't tell us what you were talking about. How about you tell us?"

"That's not really a request, is it?" Harry asked still not looking a either of them.

"No, it's not, little brother." George said firmly.

Harry sighed before trying to push away from Fred but Fred just held him tighter.

"Fred, I can't talk about this with you holding me." Harry said.

"Tough, because I'm not letting you go." Fred said, a note of steel in his voice.

"Fred, please." Harry pleaded softly.

"No." was the firm answer.

Harry struggled half heartedly for a moment, he didn't want to risk accidentally hurting Fred, before sagging against him.

"This is really unfair." the black haired boy complained.

"Tough." Fred said. "Now, stop stalling Harry. Tell us what is going on."

Harry shuddered slightly. He missed the concerned glances that Fred and George exchanged.

"Harry, no matter what you tell us, it'll be okay." George said softly.

"We won't hurt you little brother." Fred said just as quietly.

"I know." Harry said as his eyebrows shot up. "Why would you think that I think you would hurt me?"

"You were trembling." Fred said as if that explained everything.

"Oh. I-I don't know why I did. I'm just tired. It's been a long day." Harry said nearly inaudibly.

George ran a gentle hand through his hair and said "maybe it should be bed time for you after dinner."

Fred nodded as Harry said "yeah, I think it will be. I'm having trouble staying awake."

The twins shared a smile over his head as he blinked slowly, emphasizing his statement.

Fred reached up and stroked Harry's cheek gently as he said "you still owe us an explanation."

"Bill wants to apply for guardianship of me." Harry said.

Harry closed his eyes and unconsciously leaned into Fred's hand. Fred smiled softly at him as he repeated his soothing motions.

"Why does that upset you?" George asked soothingly.

Harry blinked slowly again as his eyebrows drew together. He was trying to concentrate but he was so tired. He nuzzled into Fred's chest slightly, unaware of what he was doing. He knew he was asked a question but he was so tired and felt so safe, he didn't want to respond. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this safe, he didn't want to lose that feeling.

"Harry?" Fred said as he dropped his hand and pushed Harry away from him a bit. Harry made a small noise of protest. "Oh kiddo." Fred said with a sigh as he instinctively understood. "I'm sorry, but you can't go to sleep yet. If I let you stay where you were you'll fall asleep on me. Dinner is soon, and then you can sleep. I promise. If you want me to I'll stay with you until you fall asleep tonight."

Harry shook his head slightly as he tried to focus on his older brothers. He looked up into Fred's compassionate and understanding blue eyes before dropping his head and shaking it again. He looked back up and saw the same look on George's face.

"What was the question?" the boy mumbled.

"Why does Bill wanting to apply for your guardianship upset you?" George gently asked again.

"I don't know. There is just this, abstract fear. My parents died when I was a little more than a year old. I had a Godfather who could never be here. My Aunt and Uncle hate me. I just, I don't have good luck with guardians." Harry said growing visibly upset again. "I don't want anything to happen to him. Voldemort wants me dead. By becoming my guardian it will put an even bigger target on his back. I don't want someone else to die for me or because of me. I couldn't deal with that!"

"Harry, you know that Bill would never hurt you right?" Fred said looking intently at Harry. "He would always have your best interests in mind. He would teach you what you need to know, help you sort out whatever problems you might have and just be there for you the way adults should have been you whole life."

"I know." Harry said in a slightly stressed tone.

"Even though you know all that, it's still scary." George said in understanding.

"Yeah." Harry said ashamed.

"Hey, that's nothing to be ashamed of." George said.

Fred ran a hand through Harry's hair hoping to calm him. "It's okay to be frightened. And as for the threat of taking you in… Harry, he understands the threat of doing so. But Harry, some times the rewards of doing something are worth whatever consequences might arise. Yes, it might make him a bigger target but you're worth it. He is an adult Harry, he understands what he is doing, what it might cost him and he wants to be your guardian anyway. Harry, you need to talk to Bill about all of this. He will understand and he won't be mad. He's the only one who can really make you feel better. Tell him you need to speak with him after dinner and just be honest with him. I promise he won't be angry or upset with you. He will be proud that you went to him. Okay?" Fred said quietly.

Harry just nodded.

George stood and pulled Harry to his feet while saying "lets go get dinner so you can talk to Bill and get to bed. You look exhausted."

"You don't think Bill will let me skip dinner and just go to bed, do you?" Harry asked tiredly.

"Nope." Fred said cheerfully.

Harry sighed. "I didn't think so."

The twins smiled at him as they gently guided him out of the room and down to the kitchen. The kitchen was already filled with people. They noticed that they were the last ones to arrive. Fred and George ushered Harry to the empty spot beside Bill then they took the seats across from him beside Ron. Ron opened his mouth but the twins shook their heads at him and muttered "later."

Ron nodded as he eyed their little brother. He was sitting beside Bill, watching as the older man filled his plate with food. Harry poked at his food half heartedly. He took a few bites here and there but he mostly pushed it around his plate.

"Harry, you need to eat at least half of that before you can leave." Bill said firmly into the boy's ear.

Harry looked up at him with wide, pleading eyes. Bill looked at him and saw the lines of fatigue around his emerald eyes. He noticed the slump to his shoulders and his hands shaking slightly. He leaned back down to whisper in his ear again.

"Harry, what's wrong?" concern laced his words, his blue eyes troubled.

"Tired." Harry said around a yawn.

Concerned blue eyes looked him over again. "Eat two of your meatballs and most of your vegetables, then you may go." He said.

Harry looked up at him and flashed him a small, tired smile. "I need to talk to you; tonight if possible." Harry said.

The others looked up at his last comment but they were all ignored as Harry looked at Bill.

"Okay. I'll be up as soon as I'm done with my dinner." Bill said with an easy smile.

Harry quickly ate what Bill told him he had to then looked at the red head for approval to leave the table. Bill nodded and Harry left the room, ignoring the questions that were being thrown at Bill as well as the few people who tried to call him back.

Harry made his way upstairs to the room he shares with Ron. He got changed into pajamas then went to wash his face and brush his teeth. When he came back to the room Bill wasn't there yet so he climbed in bed. He rolled over onto his side and watched the door. His eyes drifted closed. A knock on the door startled him out of his light doze and Harry called out for them to come in. Bill came into the room and smiled at him. He walked over to stand beside the bed. Harry moved over a bit the motioned that Bill could sit down. Bill smiled again as he sat beside the boy.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" Bill asked softly.

He could see how hard Harry was fighting to stay awake. He watched as the boy's eyes drifted closed only for them to snap right back open.

"It's about the guardianship." Harry said.

"Oh?" Bill asked.

"Yeah. I-I'm scared Bill, but I want you to be my guardian." Harry said in a rush.

"What are you afraid of little brother?" Bill asked gently. He wanted to comfort Harry but he knew if he stroked his hair or rubbed his back he would push the boy to sleep.

"I don't have the best luck with guardians. My parents didn't last long and Sirius could never be there for me and my Aunt and Uncle hate me." Harry said quietly with tears glistening in his eyes.

"Oh, Harry. I can't promise that nothing will happen to me but I can promise that I will do everything in my power not to leave you. I can also promise that I will never hurt you intentionally. I can promise that I will always love you and take care of you." Bill said in an emotional voice. "Harry I understand that you are afraid, that's normal. You have not had any form of stability in your life, nothing constant. It is okay to be afraid.

Harry looked at him, weighing his words. He nodded as a single tear made its way down his cheek. Bill gently wiped it away. "Harry I need you to be really honest with me right now, can you do that?"

Harry nodded.

"Are you sure this is what you want? Guardianship may not be your only option. There may be other options the Ministry would consider. You are almost 16, they might even emancipate you."

Harry met his eyes then said softly but surely "yes. This is what I want. I'm not ready to be on my own. I know I'm not. I- I want you to be my guardian. I still have a lot to learn about our life, our society, how to manage my accounts, my property, how to be a good man and Bill, since Sirius and my parents can't be here, I want to learn this from you."

Bill smiled at him gently. "Okay then, I'll file the paperwork in the morning." Bill said. He watched Harry as he open and closed his eyes slowly, trying to stay awake. He smiled at how young he looked right then. Bill said softly "now, why don't you close your eyes and go to sleep, hum? You look exhausted." He ran a hand through Harry's hair in a soothing manner. Harry shifted slightly trying to get comfortable. Bill watched him shift around some more. When Harry was still fidgeting five minutes later Bill said "roll over onto your stomach."

"What?" Harry asked confused.

"Roll over onto your stomach." Bill said again.

Harry looked at him trying to figure out why Bill wanted him to lay on his stomach.

"Just do it." Bill said quietly. "I'm going to help you fall asleep."

"How?" Harry asked.

"Just roll over and you will see." Bill said patiently.

Harry rolled over onto his stomach. He grabbed his pillow and put it under his head before he crossed his arms and laid his head on them. Bill chuckled quietly as he watched him.

"What?" Harry asked confusion shinning in his green eyes.

"Nothing. Close your eyes." Bill said in a deep, soothing tone.

Harry tossed his a confused look again before he closed his eyes. He felt Bill place his hand lightly on his back causing him to flinch slightly but Bill just started to rub gently. "It's okay little brother." Bill said softly.

It started out as circles but then he ran his hand up and down the length of his spine. Harry felt himself relaxing into the touch.

"That's it." Bill murmured. "You're okay, just relax. I'm here and there's nothing to be afraid of while I'm here."

Harry felt Bill brush the hair off his forehead. Then Bill ran his thumb gently over his cheek and down along his jaw. The hand then ran through his longish black locks, smoothing them over his neck. He felt Bill start to rub his back again. He was just about asleep when he felt Bill brush his hair back again before there was a light pressure at his temple. It took his sleep fogged brain a second to register that Bill had just kissed him when Bill's deep, comforting voice penetrated that thought. "Goodnight little brother, sleep tight. I'll see you in the morning." He felt Bill press another kiss at the same spot as he fell asleep.

_Harry looked around him trying to understand where he was. He couldn't see anything around him, it was pitch black. He could hear people talking and he tried to call out to them but his voice wouldn't work. He tried to move toward the voices but he couldn't move either. Harry started to struggle, not liking the fact that he couldn't move. Harry wasn't sure how long he fought to move when he stopped. He knew it was useless but he was angry, so he fought. Harry just stood there trying to make out the voices but he couldn't. They sounded almost like hissing. It was like hundreds of people were all whispering at one another at the same time. Suddenly one of the voices started coming closer. He couldn't see the person, it was still too dark but it seemed to be getting… almost lighter around him. Harry knew the voice, he just couldn't figure out where he heard it before. The face that materialized out of the darkness was contorted in anger and hatred. Blood matted the hair and ran down the left side of his face. The other side was burnt black and the hazel eyes were shot through with blood. _

"_You, you did this to me. This is your fault!" The voice burned with anger and accusation. _

_Harry tried to scream as he finally recognized the man before him but no sound would come out. Harry could feel his heart pounding in his chest._

"_No!" he tried to scream, but still nothing happened. "Please, no. I didn't want this! I didn't mean to!"_

"_LIES!" the man bellowed at him. "You killed me."_

"_No!" Harry tried again to plead, tears flowing freely down his face._

_The man's head snapped to the side as a woman came into view. Her face was unmarked but it was twisted with hatred, pain and betrayal._

"_How could you? Our own son. How could you?" the haunting voice was filled with pain and disappointment._

"_No, please." Harry sobbed without sound. "I'm sorry."_

_ Both the man and woman turned to look as a young man came into view. Again, his face was unmarked. His face was filled with contempt._

"_How could you let me die Harry? Did my life mean that little to you? Did you want to win that badly? You disgust me. You are a disgrace to Gryffindor House and to the Potter House. You are nothing. This is your fault. How can you live with yourself?"_

_Another voice joined in. "You are a murderer. You killed me." Another man walked into view. His face was gaunt and pale just like the last time he saw him. "How could you have fallen for such an obvious trick? You are pathetic. It is a good thing your parents didn't have to watch you grow up. You would have broken their hearts. You disappoint me Harry."_

"_No!" Harry screamed, finally finding his voice. "No Sirius please!"_

"_How dare you speak to me? You are worthless!"_

_Harry sobbed out "no, please no. I love you. Please Sirius."_

_The man just laughed cruelly. "Love, you don't know what love is and you never will. Nobody could love you. Nobody. I most certainly did not."_

_ Suddenly Ron strolled over out of the darkness. He stopped and looked around him. He turned to look at Harry with disgust on his face. "How does it feel to know you killed everyone you loved? How does it feel to know that me, Charlie, Bill, Fred and George will end up like them because of you?" _

_As Ron said their names they appeared out of the darkness. Charlie had deep lacerations across the right side of his face and where his right eye had been there was a deep, gaping hole. Charlie glared at him, it was a look of pure loathing. Bill had a deep puncture wound in his stomach. He had his right hand clamped over it, blood seeping out between his fingers. Bill looked at him, disappointment clear in his eyes along with anger and pain. Fred's right arm was missing just below the shoulder. George had a slash across his throat. _

"_You did this to us." A chorus of voices hissed at him. "This is your fault Harry."_

"_Harry!"_

"_No, I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you." Harry sobbed out._

"_Harry! Wake up! Harry you've got to wake up. It's a dream."_

_Harry started to look around for the person who was speaking kindly to him. It was the only voice that wasn't filled with hatred, anger, betrayal and pain. It was kind. It sounded concerned. He wished he could find the owner of the voice. _

"_Harry!"_

"_You did this! This is your fault!"_

"_Ron." Harry cried finally recognizing it._

Harry sat up quickly nearly knocking heads with Ron, who was still shaking him slightly.

"Ron!" Harry sobbed out.

Ron wrapped his arms around Harry and pulled him close, rocking slightly.

"It's okay." Ron whispered soothingly. "Shh, it's okay. It was just a nightmare. It's over."

"Hate me. They hate me. You too. I killed them. Killed them all." Harry sobbed into his shoulder, not really understanding what was going on. Harry finally felt someone holding them and he started to struggle.

"No, please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Please I'm sorry. I didn't want this." he cried inconsolable.

Ron didn't say anything else, he just rocked him back and forth. He tried to shush him several times but nothing was helping. Harry wasn't even aware of him anymore. After ten minutes of trying to calm Harry with no effect he gently laid him down on the bed and told him he was going to get help. Harry just curled up into a ball in the middle of his bed as he cried and shook. He didn't know how long he had laid there crying before he felt a hand on his shoulder. That just caused him to cry harder and sob out nearly incoherent pleas.

"No. I'm sorry. Didn't mean to. Didn't want this. Sorry, so sorry. Sirius, Mum, Dad, Cedric, Ron, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George please. Sorry, so sorry."

Harry felt himself being lifted and carried somewhere then settled sitting up right leaning against something warm and firm. He continued to cry. It was getting hard to breath but he couldn't seem to stop. Gradually he felt himself being rocked and a voice whispering soothingly to him. He couldn't make out the words but he understood the tone. He knew it was meant to comfort. He breath was coming out in little gasping shudders as his sobbing slowed to just crying. Slowly the words were starting to seep through his grief and terror stricken mind.

"It's okay… be just… shh… calm down… I'm here and every… shh… I've got you."

Through it all the rocking never stopped. Harry opened his eyes to see a white tee shirt with a rather large wet spot on it. He shook his head slightly, trying to clear it.

"Harry?" a gentle voice asked.

Harry looked up to see concerned blue eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't. He started crying again.

"No, no it's okay. Shh. You're okay. You need to calm down baby boy. Shh calm down." the voice above him urged gently.

Harry felt the man's hand press his head against the shoulder he had just been leaning against. The person holding him started rocking again. "Just calm down little brother. You are okay. I'm here and no one can hurt you while I'm here. Shh, now. You're okay. I need you to take a nice deep breath for me, okay. Can you do that for me?" The voice said in a deep baritone.

Harry tried to control his breathing and his tears. Both gradually started to slow again.

"Good job, kiddo, that's it. You're doing great. I'm so proud of you." his voice encouraged.

Harry lay weakly against the man holding him. His breathing had evened out and he had stopped crying. He was still being gently rocked.

"Good job. Such a good job."

Harry felt a kiss pressed to the top of his head.

"Bill." Harry whimpered.

"I'm right here, little brother." Bill said soothingly.

"Bill." Harry just said again.

"Yeah, it's me. Shh, Harry. You're okay." Bill soothed gently.

"Bill."

"Shh, now. Shh. You're okay. It was just a nightmare. I know it was frightening but it can't hurt you now. It's over." Bill said as he pulled a blanket up around Harry. He looked down and met terrified, pained and exhausted green eyes. Bill softly stroked the messy head against his shoulder. "Harry, do you want to talk about your nightmare?"

"No." was the flat reply.

"Do you want me to take you back to your room or do you want to stay here?" Bill asked.

Harry looked up at him, trying to read his expression.

"Whatever you want is okay Harry."

"Can I stay, please?" Harry asked timidly.

"Of course you can." Bill said with a comforting smile. Bill gently kissed the top of Harry's head again before shifting him slightly. Harry latched onto Bill's shirt and made a small noise of protest. He looked up at Bill pleadingly with tear-filled emerald eyes.

"It's okay. You're staying here. I'm just going to shift us a bit so we are laying down. I'm still going to hold you. It's okay. I'm not going to let you go until you want me to. Okay? I'm going to get us laying down." Bill said quietly to his frightened little brother.

Bill maneuvered them so he was laying down propped up on some pillows with Harry still held to his chest. Harry was half laying on Bill's chest. His head was pillowed on Bill's right shoulder. His body was pressed against Bill's side as Bill kept an arm wrapped around him as the other stroked Harry's hair, face, neck and back. Bill murmured quietly to him as Harry fell slowly back to sleep.

* * *

Harry woke slowly to light falling across his face. He opened his eyes and looked around him. He was still in Bill's room but he wasn't there. He sat up slowly as the night before came back to memory. Harry groaned, bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Great, just bloody great." he mumbled.

"Good morning to you too sunshine!" a bright voice said from just inside the door.

Harry looked up to see Charlie standing there. Charlie smiled at him comfortingly as he said softly. "I heard you had a rough night, Ormand."

"Yeah. Bill told you?" the boy asked.

"No. My room is next door." Charlie said coming in and sitting on the bed beside him. Harry looked horrified. "I kept you up all night?" he asked ashamed.

"No. I heard you crying and that woke me up. It's okay. If it had really bothered me I could have put up a silencing spell." the older man smiled at him. "Does it bother you because you think you kept me up all night or because you didn't want me to hear all that?"

"I don't really mind that you heard, I just don't want to make you lose sleep. Why do you call me Ormand?" Harry said cocking his head to the right slightly. "And where is Bill?"

"Bill is at the Ministry filing the paperwork. You will be his ward within an hour and a half or so. You didn't make me lose sleep. I don't really need more than 6 hours or so anyway. Bill is the same way. As for why I call you Ormand… Well where would the fun be if I told you? I will tell you this, if you think about it, you'll know the answer." Charlie said the last bit with a teasing smile as he reached out and ruffled Harry's hair.

Harry playfully glared at him as he said "no! Leave the hair alone, you'll wake it."

Charlie paused, looked at him oddly then started laughing. "And you wonder why I call you Ormand."

Harry just glared at him again.

"Okay." Charlie said lightly hitting Harry on his right hip. "Up you get. Go take a shower and get ready for the day. Bill should be back by the time you are done and you need to talk about some things before breakfast. Scoot!"

Harry got up and hurried out the door as Charlie continued his gentle assault until he was out of reach. Harry laughed as he made his way to his and Ron's room. He opened the door quietly, in case Ron was still sleeping. Harry smiled slightly as he saw the mound of blankets that Ron was sleeping under. The black haired boy quickly but quietly gathered his toiletries and clothing before making his way to the bathroom down the hall. Harry took a quick shower, got dressed and was walking back to his room seventeen minutes later. Ron was still asleep. A glance at the clock on his bedside table showed it was only 7:30am. He put his toiletries in his trunk, his pajamas in the wardrobe and left the room. He made his way back to Bill's room. The door was closed so he knocked. No one answered. He knocked again just to be sure before he opened the door and poked his head in. No one was inside the room so he entered and shut the door behind him. Harry looked around for the first time. The room was done in a light blue. Bill must have changed the color. It was too cheery to be the original color. There was a wardrobe on the far side of the room. The bed was across from the wardrobe. There were several pictures on the walls. The window was on the wall beside the bed. There was a desk on the same wall as the wardrobe. There was a window above the desk as well. Harry made his way to the bed, toed off his trainers and settled on the bed. He put his arms behind his head and relaxed back against them. He closed his eyes and thought back to the some of the conversations he had had with Charlie over the past year or so. Charlie said if he thought about it he would understand why he called him Ormand.

_Harry was sitting in the Weasley's kitchen at 3am. It was storming out and he couldn't sleep. He had a cup of cooling tea sitting in front of him. He had his elbows on the table and his head was cradled in his hands. He was so tired but he couldn't get his mind to shut off. Thoughts were swirling around and nothing was calming them down. He looked up as he heard the stairs creak. That particular creak meant someone was coming down the stairs. He warily watched the entrance to the kitchen. He didn't have enough sleep to deal with Percy. It wasn't the third Weasley son who came down the stairs but the second. Charlie looked surprised to see him sitting at the table._

"_Hello Harry. Couldn't you sleep?" he asked while walking over to make himself a cup of tea. He brought the whole pot over with him as he sat down across from Harry. "You don't mind if I join you do you?" the older man asked._

"_No, I wouldn't mind the company." Harry said._

_Charlie smiled at him and gestured to his cup. "It looks like your tea has long since gone cold. Would you like a new cup?"_

"_Uh, sure." Harry picked up his cup and was about to drink what was left when Charlie stopped him with a gentle hand on his wrist._

"_You don't have to drink it. Hot tea that has gone cold doesn't taste very good. I'll just vanish it." with a wave of his wand Charlie did just that. Then he filled it for him and nudged the cream and sugar toward him. "Help yourself."_

"_Thanks." Harry said quietly. _

_ The silence stretched between them but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was easy and peaceful. Almost fifteen minutes passed before Charlie broke the silence. "Would you like a mild sleeping drought?" _

_Harry looked up surprised._

"_When I can't sleep on a night like tonight I tend to put a few drops of one into my tea. It's not enough to force you to sleep. It just… encourages it." Charlie said with a knowing look at the boy across from him._

"_Um, yes, please. I'm really tired but my mind just won't shut off, if that makes any sense." Harry said slightly hesitantly._

"_Yeah, that makes a lot of sense actually." Charlie said as he took Harry's cup and put a few drops of sleeping drought in it. He passed it back to the boy and watched as he took a sip. "You know if you ever need to talk to someone, I'm willing to listen." Charlie offered._

_Harry looked up surprised, again. "I might take you up on that some time. Is it supposed to work this quickly?"_

"_Yes, if you are really tired." Charlie said with an indulgent smile._

"_Well then I guess I need to go to bed. Everything is kind of spinning." Harry murmured. _

"_Will you make it upstairs okay on your own?" Charlie asked._

"_Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks Charlie." Harry said as he stood. Harry started to pick up his cup and take it to the sink but Charlie's voice stopped him._

"_I've got that Harry. You just go on to bed. Oh, and you're welcome Harry." he heard Charlie say as he started climbing the stairs to Ron's room._

Harry smiled as he thought about he first time they talked. He was so surprised when Charlie came down but he was also grateful. He didn't want to be alone with his thoughts that were frightening him but he didn't know how to ask for help. Harry thought about he next time they really talked.

_Harry was sitting in the Quidditch stands. It was late and he knew he was not allowed to be out but it was peaceful. For just a little while he could just relax. He didn't have to pretend that everything was okay. He didn't have to pretend that he wasn't scared, confused, angry and hurt. He didn't have to pretend that the words Ron, his brother, had spoken in a flash of anger and jealousy hadn't hurt. Yes, Ron had apologized but the words he had spoken could never be erased and the echo still taunted Harry. He didn't have to pretend that he was okay when he was not. Here he could let the tears fall gently from his eyes with no one the wiser. He could have his moment of weakness, alone. The only way a hero should have them. He sighed slightly. It was lonely. The First Task was over and he had done well. Better than he thought he would. 'Maybe, just maybe, I might actually stand a chance in this thing.' Harry had thought as he got his score. He looked up at the clear night sky. The stars were shining down upon him. He closed his eyes as a gentle breeze blew across his face. Harry's head snapped up and he reached for his wand when he heard the sound of light footsteps. Harry shifted slightly so he was hidden in shadow. He watched as a man with red hair came into view._

_ "Harry?" Charlie Weasley called softly. "Harry? Are you out here?"_

"_Charlie? What are you doing here?" Harry said quietly from his hiding place._

_Charlie whirled around and asked "Harry, is that you? Where are you?"_

"_Right here." Harry said stepping into a beam of light from the moon._

"_What are you doing out here? You know it's not safe for you right?" Charlie asked. A slightly scolding note colored his words._

"_Yeah, I know. I just… I couldn't deal with everyone right now. I need a break. I needed to just be Harry Potter for a while. Not the Boy Who Lived, ya know?" Harry said._

"_Yeah, I understand. This has to be hard on you." Charlie said with compassion. "I know you don't really know me, but you can write to me if you ever need to talk to someone. I'll always be here for you."_

"_Why would you do that for someone you don't really know?" the boy asked in surprise._

_Charlie smiled at him and sat down, motioning for Harry to take the seat beside him. Harry did so slowly, watching the older man. He was surprised when Charlie chuckled. It was a warm, comforting sound. One Harry liked. _

_ "So, you want to know why I would do that for someone I don't really know… well the truth is, I feel like I do know you. Ron talks about you a lot when he writes. As do Fred and George. They like you a lot and have told me about you. I found myself drawn to the boy they described to me. I could practically feel the protectiveness they feel for you. Soon I found myself feeling rather protective of you myself. That was before I even met you. Then this summer we went to the World Cup and I got the chance to spend some time with you myself. I found out that you are more generous, kind, thoughtful, compassionate and protective than they told me. I also found out that you are stubborn, a little rash and you have a quick temper in certain situations. I soon found that I was starting to view you as another little brother." Charlie smiled at the shocked look Harry had on his face. His voice got kind of sad as he continued. "When the Death Eaters attacked and Fred, George and Ginny came back without you, Ron and Hermione I was terrified. I was just as afraid for you as I was for Ron. The thought of either of you being hurt or worse was unbearable. Then finding out that you didn't know what they were but knowing that you had to be told broke my heart. I didn't want you to hurt. Then I got the letter that Fred and George sent me about you being the fourth Champion and my heart almost stopped. I couldn't imagine you having to face this, having to compete in a tournament you didn't even want to be a part of. I wanted nothing more than to be here for you." Charlie finished looking softly at the bent head beside him._

_ Harry took a deep breath as shock coursed through him. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He looked up and saw concerned blue eyes looking down at him. Harry took another deep breath and let it out slowly. _

"_I don't know what to say to all that. Ron and the twins have talked about you, Bill too, and I've felt drawn to know more about you. The way they would describe you to me, it was, you are a hero in there eyes. They adore you and soon I found myself adoring you too. The big, bad dragon tamer. Then I met you and you were so kind, so funny. You and Bill treated us like we were your equals. You didn't view us as little kids or something because of the age gap. You and Bill were so cool. You were adults but you never acted like you were too good to hang out with us. You told us these awesome stories about places I've only ever dreamed of seeing. You live in Romania and Bill in Egypt, you broke away. I'm sure it wasn't easy at times but you did it. It's clear that you both love what you do but, you haven't forgotten your family. I respect that. You both made me feel welcome, like I was part of your family." Harry said this quietly, not looking at Charlie. This was still new for him, this sharing and caring stuff._

_Charlie laughed when he sensed Harry growing uncomfortable. "The big, bad dragon tamer huh?" He laughed again and this time Harry joined him. _

Author's Notes: I hoped you enjoyed that chapter and that it was worth the wait. I think this is about the time frame y'all will be looking at for updates. I'm working on this story as well as The Sixth Year. I tend to write the chapter out then go back and revise it. So, yes I think you can expect a new chapter ever week to two weeks. If I get a chapter written sooner I'll post it. I am still looking for a beta reader for both of my current stories. If you are interested please let me know. Oh, if you can think of a better title for The Sixth Year let me know please. If I decide to use a title you suggest I'll write a scene that for you in either story or I'll write a one shot for you. If you have the time please tell me what you think. Thank you to nette0602, laura-stewart, Leenniepeennie, Moonyxforever and hpbrat2 for your reviews! I loved reading them, they made my day. Thank you to everyone who put me on your story or author alert lists! Thanks for reading and until next time,

Lynn


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Hey everyone, I'm sorry it's taken so long to get this up. Thank you to Moonyxforever for betaing this for me. Any remaining mistakes are my fault. I hope you enjoy! Happy Easter for those who celebrate!

Chapter 4

"Hey, Kiddo, what are you doing?"

Harry's head snapped up when he heard the unexpected voice. A smile stretched across his face as he exclaimed happily, "Bill!"

Bill smiled at the teen as he walked into the room to sit down beside him on the bed. "What are you up to?"

"Not much, just thinking," Harry answered.

"What are you thinking about?" Bill inquired.

"Just trying to figure out why Charlie calls me Ormand," the black haired boy explained.

Bill smirked at him as he asked "have you figured it out yet?" Harry glared at him lightly as he pouted, "No I have not. Do you know why?"

"Yes I do, and no, I am not telling you," Bill replied.

Harry glared at him again before his expression changed into one of apprehension and slight fear before he whispered "what did they say?"

"Well, they approved it for the time being. Someone from the Child Services department will be stopping by for a visit to make sure you are being taken care of properly." Bill paused to take a deep breath before he continued, "we have some things we need to decide on."

Harry's eyes widened slightly and filled with alarm after Bill said that. He started to speak in a rush but Bill cut him off.

"Relax little bit. It's not whatever you are thinking about. It's nothing bad," Bill soothed gently. "We just need to talk about where we are going to be living, what the rules are for both of us, what we are going to tell everyone, and about your accounts and estates."

Harry looked up at him with wide, slightly dazed eyes as he murmured, "oh, is that all?"

Bill reached out and ruffled Harry's mop of black hair before wrapping his arm around his shoulder and pulling him close. "Don't worry; it's really not that much." Bill offered comfortingly.

Harry took a deep breath and said quietly, "okay, what's first?"

"Well, how about we start with where you want to live. Do you want to stay here or would you like to move to Egypt?" Bill questioned softly, trying not to overwhelm the boy more than he was.

"I-I don't, I don't know." Harry stuttered.

Bill squeezed him lightly and then pulled him in closer to his side. "Harry, calm down. You are okay. It's going to be okay, little bit, I promise."

Harry pulled in a slightly shuddering breath and tried to calm down. When that didn't work he turned his head into Bill's shoulder, trying to hide the tears. A hand came up to stroke his hair and back gently.

"Shh, you are okay. Just calm down, you're okay. Everything's okay. I know this is a lot to deal with, a lot to take in, but it's going to be okay," Bill said in a soft, comforting tone. He began rocking slightly back and forth as he hummed softly. It took almost ten minutes before Harry started to calm down. Harry pulled away and swiped at his face, trying to get rid of the tears.

"Feeling better now?" Bill asked gently.

Harry nodded so he continued, "Are you ready to talk about this?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm sorry Bill, I don't know why I got so upset," the boy responded looking down, ashamed.

"Hey," Bill said as he reached out and lifted his chin back up to look into the puffy green eyes, "None of that. It's okay. I expected some form of tears. It's okay. This is a lot to take in, a lot to deal with, but you are not alone. If you need to cry, then you go ahead and cry. There is no shame in that. I don't believe for one minute that men are not supposed to cry." Bill pulled him back to his chest and pushed the messy black head against his shoulder and held it there gently as he stroked the silky locks. "Just take a few more minutes and calm down. There is no rush."

Harry snuggled in closer to his guardian and closed his eyes. He felt safe and comfortable and he didn't want to move. He closed his eyes as he thought about what he wanted to do. He could hear quiet humming coming from the man holding him and that helped him to relax even more. After another hummed song he pulled away to look at Bill.

"Can we," Harry paused to take a deep breath before continuing softly, "Can we stay here but spend time in Egypt, too? I don't want to leave Ron, Charlie and the twins but I want to see your home too."

"Yeah, we can do that. That isn't a problem. We can spend the week here and leave when I get done working on Friday evenings. We can come back Monday mornings when I have to work again. How does that sound? Oh, and it's your home now too. Wherever I am you will always have a home with me, even after you graduate." Bill answered as he thought it out in his head.

"Really? We can do both?" Harry asked as his eyes lit up.

"Sure we can. I would love to show you Egypt but I understand your need to be around your older brothers," Bill confirmed with a smile.

Harry grinned at him and hugged him. "Thank you thank you thank you," he chanted softly.

"You're welcome kiddo." Bill said quietly before he reached out, gripped Harry's chin and tilted it gently up to be able to look in his eyes. His voice was a little firmer as he continued. "You know that we have to tell everyone else, right? You know that some people might not be too happy about it, but you need to keep your temper in check. You need to let me handle in. No one is going to take you away from me. I promise. I have the rest of the week off so if you want to we can leave for Egypt in the morning and spend the rest of the week and weekend there."

"Yeah, I'd like that." Harry answered softly. "I know we have to tell people, I just don't want them giving you a hard time about it."

"I'm the adult, Harry; that's not your problem to worry about." Bill told him firmly. "That brings us to the rules. We need to talk about them and about what the punishments are for breaking them."

Harry pulled away from him and offered a quiet "okay."

"It's not going to be as bad as you are thinking they will be," the red head said comfortingly.

"Okay," Harry repeated.

"I know you don't drink or do drugs; keep it that way. I will not tolerate that in any form. When you turn 17 I'll take you out and let you drink. I will always expect you to be smart about it. There is no reason to get drunk. I know you swear and as long as you don't say anything too bad or too often I'll let it pass. If I feel you are coming close to crossing the line I'll warn you. At 16 all that will do is earn you a scolding. You are too old to have your mouth washed out or something like that. At this point, as long as you don't swear at inappropriate times or areas I won't say anything." Bill looked up at Harry and asked "do you understand?" He continued in the same firm but calm tone after receiving a nod from Harry.

"Here you really don't have a curfew seeing as you can't be out without an escort but in Egypt I expect you back by 10:30 at the latest. You break that one your curfew will be lowered. I expect you to treat the people around you with respect. That means you do not yell at them, you do not take your temper out on them, you are polite, by this point in time you should understand what that means. If you break this one you will lose privileges and be grounded for some amount of time. You will study something for two hours everyday. When you do it is up to you, but you have to do it. I would recommend in the morning but, like I said, when is up to you. When your homework is done pick a subject and study that for a week. At the end of the week you will owe me a two foot essay." Bill paused again to make sure Harry understood but before he could say anything the boy responded.

"I understand and agree with that."

"I expect you to keep your room neat and orderly. I'm sure you know what that means. Pick up after yourself, just basic stuff that you know and do already. The dinner dishes every evening are yours. If there are a lot I will help you with them. That is pretty much it. No matter what you do I will never hit you. You are too old for physical discipline and I will not do it. Food will never be denied for misbehavior. You will never be locked in your room, you may be sent to it for a bit of time, but you will never be confined to it for more than an hour or two. You are never allowed to harm yourself. We have already had that conversation; I don't think we need to have it again. Now, for the fun part… rewards. I will make sure you get time outside every day. If you follow all the rules you'll get more time outside on the weekend. If there is something big you want you can work towards earning it. You can pick up chores and any extra chores you do you will be paid for. I believe if you do the work you should earn something for that work. Do you agree, disagree, have questions?" Bill said all this in a calm and firm voice while watching Harry closely.

"No, it was very clear and I agree with it." Harry responded quietly.

"So what is wrong?" Bill asked, concerned at how quiet Harry was.

Harry shrugged his shoulders and didn't say anything. Bill reached out and ran gentle fingers through his hair. "I cannot help you if you will not talk to me." the older man reminded softly.

"It's just… a little overwhelming," Harry responded in a small voice as he leaned into the comforting touch. Bill pulled him close again and kissed the top of his head. He rocked slightly for a few moments, just quietly offering comfort to the stressed out kid he was now responsible for.

"I'm sorry, Bill. I don't know what my problem is. Like you said it's not that different from what I already do and don't do. I don't know why I'm so freaked out." Harry mumbled from his place against Bill's chest.

"Little brother, it's allowed. You just lost your Godfather, you have a new guardian, a new home; it's normal for you to be feeling slightly scared, freaked out, upset, confused. It's all normal. What you need to remember though is that everything is going to be okay. That I love you," Bill pulled him a little tighter against him when he heard Harry's breathing hitch and started to rock again. He continued talking to Harry in a tender tone. "Yes, little brother, I love you very much. So do a lot of other people. Ron, George, Fred and Charlie do, my parents, a lot of your professors do as well. You are not alone and we will get you through this. I promise, it will be okay."

They sat like that for a while longer, Harry leaning against Bill while he rocked them back and forth, running his fingers through Harry's mop of messy black hair. Bill smiled down at him and Harry returned it before closing his eyes.

"Hey, now, you can't fall asleep on me yet. I need to get some lunch into you, we both missed breakfast so we need to eat. After we are done if you want to take a nap you can come back up here and sleep for a bit," the red head said in a gently chiding tone.

Harry looked up at him, blinking sleepily. "I don't know why I'm so tired," he confessed around a yawn. "I slept really well last night."

"How long, before last night, has it been that you slept well?" Bill asked as he watched the boy leaning against him with amusement shining out of his blue eyes.

"I can't remember the last time before that." Harry mumbled starting to fall back asleep. He made a small whimper of protest when Bill shook him gently.

"I know, baby boy, I know, but you need to eat something," Bill said in gentle remorse. "I can't let you not eat."

"Please, Bill," Harry pleaded in a whisper.

"No, baby boy. You need to eat," Bill answered softly.

Harry whimpered in protest as he shivered. He could feel the tears burning behind his closed eyelids and they annoyed and angered him. He was tired of crying but he couldn't seem to stop. He sniffed quietly.

"Oh, Harry." Bill said soothingly. "Sh, you're okay. It's okay. I know you don't want to eat, that you just want to sleep, but you really do need food. There is no reason to cry. I'm not angry; I'm just trying to take care of you."

"No, it's not that. Not really. I just… I don't know what my problem is." Harry bit out in frustration.

Bill just started to rock again. "This is a lot to deal with. Your emotions are going to be crazy for a little while. Be patient with yourself, we're all going to be. You need to allow yourself to feel what you feel without being angry about it. You are going through a lot that is normal. Just relax. I know you're hurting, and that you are afraid. It's been less than three weeks since Sirius died. Your emotions are going to be all over the place for a while. If you are not getting enough sleep or eating enough or healthy enough that can make it worse, when you are grieving it's important to take care of yourself. There are going to be times you don't want to, that is why I will insist you eat and sleep regularly. You need to have some fun, talk to your brothers, play games, do your homework, you need to keep living. As hard as that is, you need to. Are you better now?" the older man wanted to know.

"Yeah," Harry said as he pulled back slightly. "I'm okay," he took a deep breath before continuing softly. "Le-let's go get something to eat."

"That's my boy." Bill praised happily.

They both got up and made their way to the empty kitchen. Bill motioned to the table and Harry sat down. The older man set about making them some sandwiches. Harry watched him move around the kitchen with a grace and ease that spoke of doing this many times before. He watched as he moved with his shoulders thrown back, standing tall and proud. Harry wondered where that kind of confidence came from. Bill looked like he knew his place in the world and was comfortable with it and himself. Harry hoped he could have that some day.

"What are you thinking about, Kiddo?" Bill wondered as he slid a plate with a ham sandwich with mayo, tomato, lettuce and a pickle over to him. Harry looked up and stopped the plate before it fell off the edge of the table. He picked it up, took a bite then said "it's good" before taking another. He put his sandwich down as he chewed slowly, thinking about how to answer Bill's question.

"I was thinking about you actually," he admitted softly.

"What about me?" the redhead asked.

"About how you seem so comfortable in you own skin. How you practically exude confidence. I was wondering how you got to that point in your life, where you are completely comfortable with the world and your place in it." Harry answered, a slight hint of awe in his voice.

"Well, Kiddo, I can tell you that it was hard won. Yes, I've always had a certain amount of confidence in myself, but I didn't have as much as I do now. I got this by moving away from my family. When I was living on my own, in Egypt, right after graduation things were hard. I didn't have Charlie there with me. My dad wasn't right there to help me fix my mistakes. I was alone." Bill paused to take a sip of his tea and look at Harry, to make sure he was following. "My superior was demanding things of me I'd never done before, people were counting on me to watch their backs as we went through pyramids. It was a lot of pressure. Then one day one of my older coworkers sat me down and told me that I could let the pressure get to me and beat me down or I could learn from it. Let it forge me into a strong man. I made the choice, right there in front of him, to let it forge me. I chose to learn from the pressure, and them, my coworkers, how to be a better Curse Breaker and a better man. I've never regretted that decision. I could have said I can't do this and gone home, but I stuck it out, I rode out the hard times, often alone, but I've come out the other side stronger for it. I have no regrets. None. My coworkers have become my extended family." Bill paused and looked at Harry again as he smiled widely. "I can't wait to introduce you to them. They are going to love you! They are a good group."

"I look forward to meeting them too." Harry offered with a slight smile. "It sounds like they are important to you."

"They are." Bill answered softly.

Harry smiled at the older man before he took another bite of his sandwich. "Will you tell me about them?" Harry requested quietly.

"What do you want to know?" Bill asked with a smile.

"Everything; they are important to you so they are to me as well." Harry explained softly.

"Okay, well, let's see. There is Benjamin Lath, the one I told you about a little bit ago. He is 35 years old and the oldest member of our team. I'm the youngest at 25. He went to Beauxbatons Academy. He is the team leader. He has shaggy brown hair and deep brown eyes with golden flecks. He is the oldest child with a younger sister Baylee, who is also on our team. He is about six feet, five inches tall. He is really relaxed. He does not worry about the small stuff, but he demands that we are safe. If it is a safety concern he does not let us cut corners. He demands that we give our best. If he thinks we are not working up to our potential he will be on our case until we are. He lets us have a good time while we are working. He loves American Muggle rock music." Bill started off happily; glancing up a few times to make sure Harry was still eating.

"He sounds like he is a good guy to work for." Harry commented.

"He is. There are much worse bosses out there." Bill confirmed. "Eat all of your sandwich please."

"I will, Bill." Harry stated with a slight huff to his voice. Bill gave him a look that clearly stated 'watch it.' Harry ducked his head and offered a soft "I'm sorry" before the older man continued. "You're forgiven. Next is Baylee. She is the exact opposite of her brother. She is 32 years old. She is five foot nothing with long blond hair, think Luna blonde, and clear blue eyes. She is more serious than Ben. She tends to mother our group and is the only female, but if you make her mad, she _will_ take you down. She does not take crap from anyone. She has a wicked sense of humor and is always ready with a comeback. Next is Nicoli Lombardi. He is a 29 year old Italian. He is the quite, studious one. He is a very nice guy once he warms up to you. He is the most quiet of the bunch. He is very kind and generous. He loves to cook and so he often has us over for dinner when we have off. Usually, we spend the evenings together. We usually just roast meat on a spit and stick vegetables in the coals." Bill looked up at Harry again and Harry smiled at him. His plate was pushed to the side, sandwich gone. "Would you like another sandwich?" Bill asked.

"No, thank you. It was good, though," Harry stated, soft appreciation in his voice.

"Okay, then. Let me know if you change your mind." Bill told the boy in a firm voice. Harry nodded then Bill continued talking about his coworkers. "The last one is Jesse O'Brien, a 28 year old Irishman. He is about six feet tall with short red hair and blue-green eyes. He is very laid back. He is the one I spend the most time with. Jesse and I are almost always partners. Sometimes Baylee is with us as well. Jesse has a very off beat sense of humor. He is quick with comebacks and always up for a good time. He is an only child and his parents passed away a few years ago. His specialty was Defense, so I'm not quite sure how he ended up Curse Breaking, but I'm glad he is here. He has been a great friend." Bill said with a soft smile.

"They sound like great people and I can't wait to meet them." Harry responded with a bright smile of his own. Bill returned the smile before asking "Did you have enough to eat?"

"Yeah, I did, thank you." Harry answered.

"You're welcome. I have some appointments this afternoon, so I'm not going to be here, but Charlie is here somewhere. If you need something find him, okay?" Bill explained as he waved his wand to clean up their lunch mess.

"Okay." Harry said with a slight smile as Bill made shooing motions and noises until he got up and headed for the door. "Oh, Harry," Bill called as the boy was almost at the door. Harry turned to look at him. "Yeah?" He asked.

"Tonight we will tell whoever is here. Make sure you keep your temper in check, remember, _no one_ will take you from me. I swear it." Bill instructed in a firm, but kind, voice.

"Okay." Harry's response was soft but his green eyes held trust in the older man.

"Good." Bill said with a playful smile. "Now, get out of here. Go find one of your brothers."

Harry turned and headed upstairs to fine Charlie. He wanted to spend some time with the older man. He went up to Charlie's room and knocked on the door. A muffled "come in" had him opening the door to see Charlie sprawled out on his bed reading a book. He looked up and smiled brightly at the boy.

"Come in!" Charlie said as he slid over on the bed to give Harry room to sit beside him.

Harry walked over and sat down beside him. Charlie pulled him into a quick one armed hug then ruffled his hair. "How are you doing, Little Bit?" Charlie asked with a smile.

"I'm doing okay. How 'bout you, how are you?" Harry responded.

"I'm doing well, thank you," the redhead responded with an easy smile.

"That's good." Harry said with a tired smile as Charlie reached out and ran his fingers through the silky, black locks. Harry leaned into the touch and closed his eyes. Charlie smiled and whispered "tired?"

"Yeah. Bill said even though I slept well last night that won't cancel out all the missed sleep over the past few weeks." Harry said tiredly as he leaned into Charlie.

"He's right, you know. You have missed a lot of sleep and one or two good nights sleep won't fix that. It will take a little while, give yourself time. If you are tired, sleep. If you are hungry, have a snack. You need to take care of yourself and allow us to take care of you too." Charlie explained patiently, affection shinning out of his blue eyes. Harry smiled back at the older man and offered a quiet "I'll try."

"That's all we can really expect right now." Charlie responded with a gentle smile. "What do you want to do? You seem tired, do you want to try to get a nap?"

Harry looked uncertain for a few seconds before Charlie said "you can stay here and I'll stay with you."

"O-okay. I am kind of tired." Harry answered around a yawn.

Charlie chuckled as he moved on the bed, sliding down and pulling Harry against his chest. Harry snuggled into his brother's chest and closed his eyes. Charlie ran his fingers through his hair as he quietly talked to his little brother. Harry shifted against him again causing Charlie to still his soothing motions and ask "What is wrong, Little Bit?"

"I don't know." Harry mumbled into the firm chest acting as his pillow.

Charlie pulled out his wand and flicked it at the radio sitting on his desk. Softly playing music filled the room. Harry seemed to melt against Charlie as the music washed over him. Charlie smiled into the mop of messy hair laying against his chest.

"Is that better?" Charlie questioned tenderly.

"Yeah, thank you. I've never liked the quiet." Harry murmured in a distant voice.

"Go to sleep baby brother. I'll be here when you wake up." Charlie gently ordered as Harry's eyes slid closed.

* * *

"Harry, wake up. Harry, it's time to get up."

Harry slowly pulled himself awake at the gentle but insistent voice. He tried to sit up but an arm across his back and side kept him pinned to something firm beneath him. He opened his eyes to see Charlie smiling down at him.

"Hey Charlie." Harry rasped.

"Good afternoon sunshine." Charlie answered with a smile. "How do you feel now? Better?"

"Yeah, I do. Thank you for letting me sleep for a bit." Harry said as he snuggled into Charlie a bit more.

"I didn't let you sleep that long; only about an hour and a half. It's a little after three now. I figured we could hang out until dinner." Charlie explained.

"That sounds good." Harry answered in a groggy voice causing Charlie to laugh. "What?" Harry demanded.

"Nothing, you just sound funny when you are half asleep." Charlie chuckled.

"Funny, I'm sure." Harry responded deadpan.

"I thought so," was the cheerful response.

Charlie started running his fingers through the boy's hair again. "What would you like to do?"

"I don't know. What do you do with Ron?" Harry asked.

"How about a game of poker?" Charlie proposed. "You know how to play right?"

"Yeah, sure, I'm in." Harry said as he sat up and rubbed his hands over his face as Charlie summoned a deck of cards. They played for a while, Harry beating Charlie more often than not.

"You're scamming me, aren't you?" Charlie demanded playfully after one particularly bad defeat.

"Now, would I do that?" Harry asked innocently.

"Yeah, you would." Charlie said as he tossed his cards aside and grabbed Harry, pulling him towards him so he could tickle him.

"No!" Harry exclaimed as he reached out and grabbed a pillow and started to hit Charlie with it. "No! Back, back I say."

Charlie grabbed the arm that was holding the pillow and pinned it to the bed as he continued his tickle assault on his little brother. Harry wriggled trying to get away but he was getting weak from laughter.

"I'll teach you to con me." Charlie scolded playfully.

Harry laughed and tried to get away. He pushed against the bigger man and ended up falling off the bed. He landed with a thump on the floor and glared playfully up at Charlie, who had stilled when he fell. Charlie had a look of regret and horror on his face.

"Now look what you did." Harry said playfully.

"Oh, Harry! I'm so sorry." Charlie exclaimed as he hurried to his side. "Are you okay?"

"Charlie I'm fine. I promise. Though you could give me a hand up." Harry said extending a hand to Charlie, the older man took it, pulling him to his feet and into his arms. Charlie ran a gentle hand over the boy's back as he continued to apologize.

"Charlie, it's okay. It's more my fault than yours anyway. I'm the one who pushed away from you." Harry reassured as he leaned against the older man. "Relax, Charlie, I'm okay. Surely you've pushed Fred, George, Ron or Bill off a bed or couch before."

"Well, yeah, but-" Charlie started to say but Harry cut him off.

"They are all still here so none of them died so, what's the problem?" Harry asked.

"I just…" Charlie paused. "I'm afraid of hurting you. Not that I'm not with our other brothers, but with you, it's different. You've been hurt so much already, you don't need your big brothers hurting you as well." Charlie explained softly looking down at Harry with tender eyes.

"Charlie, I know you didn't mean to push me off the bed, and even if you had, it wouldn't have been done to hurt me. I don't want you to treat me like I'm made of glass. I won't break from a bit of roughhousing. I know that you are not going to hurt me and if by chance I do get hurt, I know it wouldn't be intentional. Please, Charlie, don't. Don't treat me like I'll break, or like I'm a little kid. Please, Charlie." Harry pleaded looking up into the kind blue eyes of his big brother.

Charlie looked into the pleading emerald eyes of his baby brother and said "I'll try. That is the best I can offer you. You are my baby brother and everything inside me screams to protect you." Charlie said in a loving tone.

Harry leaned his forehead against Charlie's right shoulder as he sighed out "Okay. I can live with that."

"**Dinner is ready!**" Mrs. Weasley's voice rang through out the house.

Blue and emerald green eyes locked together as Harry murmured "show time."

"It's going to be okay. I promise, everything will be okay. Bill will handle it; he'll have me for back up if he needs it. If the twins feel things are getting too heated they will leave with you. Please, go with them and they will stay with you until Bill or I can get to you." Charlie instructed seriously before he reached up to cradle Harry's face in his hands. Charlie moved his thumbs over the boy's cheeks gently, hoping to offer comfort. He whispered gently "It's going to be okay, I swear it."

Harry nodded before pulling away. "Let's go find Bill and get this over with."

Harry and Charlie headed down to the kitchen, meeting Bill on the stairs. He reached out and hugged Harry quickly while whispering in his ear, "It's going to be okay. I promise, everything will work out. No one is going to take you away from me. Charlie went over the plan with you, correct?"

"Yep, let's do this." Harry responded, trying to sound calmer than he actually was. Bill saw through the act and stroked his hair gently. "Fred and George know what to do, so you listen to them and do what they tell you to, okay." Bill instructed in a gentle but serious tone.

"Okay." Harry whispered becoming more frightened.

"Everything is going to be okay baby boy, I promise." Bill said sensing the fear they were causing. He kissed the top of the shaggy head then ushered him into the kitchen with Charlie following. Bill steered Harry to a set beside Fred then sat down beside him. Charlie took the seat on Bill's other side. Fred leaned over to whisper in Harry's ear "Everything will be okay, you'll see. If something does go wrong, George and I will take care of you until Bill can get you." He offered the boy a comforting smile before turning to talk to George.

The room filled with voices, the clink of silverware and goblets and laughter as the Order settled into a wonderful dinner prepared by Mrs. Weasley. Harry ate as much as he could, but his stomach was tied in knots. Bill seemed to understand because he didn't push the boy to eat more than he could. What felt like hours later people were finished with their dessert and just sipping drinks when Bill said in a loud enough voice to be easily heard, "I have an announcement I would like to make."

The room slowly quieted as everyone turned to look at him. Harry's hands, which were hidden under the table, began to tremble. Fred reached out and held it gently, rubbing the back with his thumb to calm the boy.

"Well, what is it Bill?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"I have applied for, and was granted, guardianship of Harry." Bill stated succinctly.

There was an instant uproar.

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Weasley demanded.

"Bill, what have you done, son?" Mr. Weasley questioned.

"You did what?!" Ginny practically screamed.

Many other people were expressing similar thoughts.

"Quiet!" Dumbledore finally said.

The room fell silent and turned to look at the elderly wizard. The headmaster of Hogwarts sat regarding Bill seriously. "What made you decide to do this, William?" He questioned.

"Harry is my little brother, for once I wanted to see him go to someone who would, and could, take care of him. HIM! Someone who would put him first, not the war, not the Wizarding population, him. I decided that person would be me. I asked if he wanted this and he agreed. I fit the requirements in Sirius' Will. The Ministry approved." Bill said in a strong, sure voice.

"Bill, you are too young to be a parent!" Mrs. Weasley cried. "We would have taken him in! How could you throw away your future like this?"

Harry flinched slightly as the thoughtlessly cruel words and Fred squeezed his hand as he glared at his mother.

"It's not true, little brother, it's not true." Fred whispered comfortingly into his ear.

"I think it's great." Ron spoke in a strong voice. "Bill is exactly what Harry needs and I think Harry is what Bill has needed. Harry will give Bill a purpose besides his work."

"Thank you Ron." Bill intoned quietly.

Ron nodded to his brother and smiled gently at Harry. The room erupted again, people yelling at Bill, while he strongly defended his actions. Fred could feel Harry trembling worsen so he pulled him up and led him from the room ignoring the calls to bring him back and demands of where they were going. As they left the room they could hear Bill stating "They are doing what I asked them too. Harry does not need to be here for this. He is my ward, that is my choice. I shall protect him as I see fit."

Fred and George let Harry upstairs to Bill's room. They went in, locked and warded the door behind them. By this point Harry was shaking badly; tears glistening in his emerald eyes. Fear was shinning out of them as he looked up at Fred and George.

"Wh-what now?" Harry inquired shakily.

"Now we wait." Fred said gently. "Everything is going to be okay. Bill can take care of himself, plus he has Charlie and Ron watching his back. He'll be okay. He will get everyone calmed down. They really don't have a say in this Harry. It's between you and Bill. Everything is going to be okay." Fred gently took Harry in his arms as the tears started to fall. He backed up until he hit the armchair in the corner and sat down, pulling Harry into his lap. Harry cried into Fred's shoulder as he was rocked back and forth. He could hear Fred whispering comfortingly to him. "It's going to be okay baby brother. Everything is going to be okay. No one is going to take you from Bill. It's going to be okay." Fred's gentle whispering was the last thing he heard as he sobbed himself to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Notes:

Hey y'all I've got a whole host of reasons this is so late but I have a feeling y'all don't care so all I'll say is this: There were some medical reasons, some technical reasons, a bit of writer's block and some personal reasons. If you want more details they are on my profile page. A HUGE thanks to those of you who reviewed. Y'all kept me going when I wanted to give up on this chapter! And a big ol' thank you to Moonyxforever for her patience and betaing this for me! Any remaining mistakes are my own. As for the information on Egypt, I did a lot of research, but I'm sure I'll get some things wrong. I am sorry and no disrespect is meant. Now on to Chapter 5!

From last time:

_Fred gently took Harry in his arms as the tears started to fall. He backed up until he hit the armchair in the corner and sat down, pulling Harry into his lap. Harry cried into Fred's shoulder as he was rocked back and forth. He could hear Fred whispering comfortingly to him. "It's going to be okay baby brother. Everything is going to be okay. No one is going to take you from Bill. It's going to be okay." Fred's gentle whispering was the last thing he heard as he sobbed himself to sleep._

Chapter 5:

A concerned "How's he doing?" was the first thing Harry heard as he fought to wake up. He shook his head from side to side and let out a muffled noise of protest.

"Shh, I think he's waking up," said a voice as a thumb ran over his forehead. "It's okay. Everything's alright."

"Bill?" Harry murmured sleepily.

"Yeah, I'm right here sweetheart. Everything's okay." Bill responded comfortingly.

Harry forced his eyes open to see Bill looking down at him lovingly. Harry smiled and Bill returned it before leaning down to kiss his forehead.

"How are you doing Harry? Did you sleep okay?" Bill asked quietly.

"Yeah, it wasn't bad." Harry answered as he scooted up more on the bed. For the first time he looked around. He saw Charlie standing beside the bed and offered him a smile. The older man smiled back before Harry kept looking. The walls were light blue with cream trim and dark blue accents. "Bill, where are we?" Harry asked confused.

"We are in your room in our flat in Egypt." Bill said softly, watching Harry closely. "Why don't you get dressed, come out for breakfast and we will explain what happened."

"O-okay," Harry stuttered softly.

"Do you see the creamish-tan colored clothes at the foot of the bed?" Bill asked. When Harry nodded he continued. "They are light cotton pants and a tunic. They are yours to wear until we can go shopping later today. When you come out I will shrink them for you. They are mine. It's too hot to wear jeans. Any questions so far?"

Harry looked back and forth between his older brothers before settling his eyes on Bill. "You'll explain everything over breakfast?" He questioned uncertainly.

"I promise," Bill intoned solemnly.

"Okay," Harry said softly.

"Alright, we'll leave you to get dressed. When you are done just come out to the kitchen. You'll hear us talking, but if you can't just give a yell and one of us will come get you. Okay?" Bill instructed softly to the boy.

Harry nodded. Bill stood, kissed Harry's forehead, and then followed Charlie out the door, closing it softly behind him. Harry slowly got up and pulled on the too big clothes. Harry made the bed before making his way to the door. He had to keep pulling up his pants because they were way too big. When he got into the hallway he listened until he heard his big brothers voices. He took a deep breath before following the talking. He walked down the short hallway. It opened into a living room. The room was spacious with golden painted walls with cream trim. The furniture was chocolate brown leather. There was a big fireplace along one wall. The kitchen was separated by a half wall. There were two doorways cut out that let to the living room. In the kitchen was a table that could seat four people. Bill and Charlie were sitting there talking.

"Hey," Harry said softly.

"Harry!" Charlie exclaimed with a smile. "Come, have a seat."

Harry walked over and took a swat between them.

"Morning," Harry offered quietly. "What time is it?"

"It's eight a.m. here so six a.m. back in London." Bill answered.

"Oh, I thought there was a bigger time difference." Harry said.

"Nope," Bill answered.

They fell silent and Harry thought about last night. His eyes lowered to the table top as he thought about what had happened. He couldn't remember how he had gotten here. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep on Fred. Harry looked to see his brothers watching him. He took a deep breath then tentatively asked "What happened last night?"

Bill and Charlie glanced at each other before Bill asked "Do you want me to start after you left the kitchen or after that?"

"When I left, please." Harry said in a strong voice.

"Okay… after Fred and George took you out almost everyone started demanding to know where they were taking you. I told them that you are my charge and what conversations you are involved in is not any of their business. Neither is how I choose to protect you. That, of course, caused an uproar. They said there was nothing to protect you from there. I told them that isn't their decision either. Several people tried to convince me I made a mistake. I told them _**I Did Not**_. Harry look at me." Bill said.

Harry looked up from twisting his hands together and into Bill's blue eyes. Bill continued talking, looking Harry in the eyes, his voice firm. "I did not make a mistake taking you in. _**I…Did…Not**_. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I do Bill." Harry said softly as he searched the intense blue eyes of his guardian. "I cannot honestly say I completely understand why, but I do understand it was your choice to take me in. I also understand you were not forced or guilted into it. You didn't have to, you wanted to."

Bill stood up and come over to Harry, placed his hands on either side of the boy's face and kissed the top of Harry's head. "Good boy," he murmured against his hair. "Good, good boy."

Harry leaned his forehead against Bill's chest causing Bill to warp his arms around him. They stayed like that for several moments before Harry pulled away. "What else happened?" He questioned.

Bill retook his seat before he answered. "Surprisingly, not a lot. We got support from Kingsley and Moody. Lupin was not happy. I am not quite sure if it was because he could not take you in or if it was something else. My parents have started to come around and Dumbledore was, basically, resigned. I don't think we've heard the last from him, but for now, I think he's going to leave us alone. It really wasn't that bad. Charlie and Ron were both really vocal in their support." Bill said in a calm, sure tone.

Harry looked over at Charlie and smiled. "Thank you," he said softly.

Charlie's expression was tender as the looked at his baby brother. "Always, Ormand, always."

Harry smiled at him again before turning back to Bill.

"After that I want upstairs to get you from Fred and George. When I took down the wards and got in I found George with his wand pointed right between my eyes. After we established I was who I was claiming to be he moved aside and I saw you. You were curled up in Fred's lap, fast asleep. They said you had cried yourself to sleep. I tried to wake you up but couldn't, so I brought you here. I thought it would be the best option since some members of the Order weren't very happy about the guardianship. I'm sorry I had to make that decision without your input." Bill said softly.

"It's okay," Harry said. "I understand that you are always going to do you what you think is best for both of us. I knew that was part of the deal, and I understand that I might not always like it. We were going to leave today anyway; we just left a bit early." Harry shrugged.

"That's a very mature way to look at it." Bill said approvingly, sharing a look with Charlie.

"George and I talked about it the one day." Harry explained. "I guess he felt the need to make sure I understand that I don't always have to like the decisions you make for us, but I need to respect them."

No one spoke for a moment. Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he glanced at Charlie and Bill from under his eyelashes. Charlie broke the silence by asking "What do you want for breakfast, Kiddo?"

"I don't care. Cereal is fine. No need to go to any trouble for me." Harry said with a shrug.

"Oh no. We are not serving you cereal on your first day at home." Bill vetoed with a shake of his head.

Harry looked at Bill in shock. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he was able to whisper a shocked, slightly disbelieving "Home…" There was a film of tears over his bright green eyes, making them look that much brighter.

Bill reached over and gently ran his thumb along his cheek bone. "Yeah, Sweetheart," Bill whispered tenderly. "Home."

Harry looked up at Bill and whispered "Do you have any idea how good that word sounds?" He paused in thought before continuing. "But it feels even better."

"I'm glad, Har. That is what home is supposed to be. It's supposed to feel good. A safe place to go, where the people are family and love you. A place where you are always welcome, but more importantly, always wanted. And now you have that, with me." Bill said with a gentle, indulgent smile as he ran a hand through Harry's messy mop of hair.

Harry smiled at him.

"You know that goes for Fred, George and me as well, don't you?" Charlie asked with a smile. "There will always be a place for you with us, no matter where we are at the time."

"Thank you Charlie. That means a lot," Harry said returning his smile.

Bill cleared his throat before saying "You never said what you would like for breakfast."

Harry shifted uncomfortably, looking at the table.

"It's okay, Kiddo. Whatever you want I can make. Pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, oatmeal, toast, or a combination of any of them." Bill said, prompting the boy to make a choice.

Harry still looked unsure. "Um… I… How about pancakes?"

"Pancakes are good. How about we have some bacon, fruit and juice with them as well? How does that sound?" Bill asked looking closely at his charge.

"That sounds good, Bill. I'm actually rather hungry." Harry admitted quietly, glancing at Bill.

"That's good Kiddo, that's real good." Bill praised with a smile as he ruffled Harry's hair.

"Bill's right, little brother, that's really good." Charlie added with a smile. "Bill," he asked, turning to him. "Do you want me to make the pancakes?"

"If you wouldn't mind." Bill answered, then looked at Harry and winked. "He makes the best pancakes I have ever had."

Harry offered a small smile. "Sounds good."

Bill and Charlie stood up to begin making breakfast. Charlie went to the refrigerator and pulled out eggs, cream, bacon and some fruit and set them on the counter beside the stove. Then he pulled flour, baking powder, baking soda, vegetable oil and salt out of a cupboard and placed them with the eggs, cream, bacon and fruit. Meanwhile, Bill was pulling skillets out of another cupboard. Bill got a few bowls out and put them beside the skillets on the counter. He got cooking utensils out as well. Harry watched them exchange items. Charlie handed Bill the bacon and fruit and got in return a skillet, bowl, and cooking utensils. Charlie started making the pancake batter as Bill put the bacon on to fry.

"The reason Charlie's pancakes are so good is because he uses cream in the batter instead of milk." Bill explained as he started cutting up fruit.

Harry stood up and both his older brothers turned to look at him. Harry offered them a smile as he asked "Where are your plates, glasses, utensils and napkins at?"

"Harry, you really don't have to set the table." Bill said.

"I know I don't, but I'd like to." Harry stated with an easy smile.

"Okay, who am I to argue with that?" Bill asked before direction Harry to the correct cupboards and drawers. Harry set out three places on the table.

"Is there anything else I can do?" Harry asked.

"Would you like to finish cutting the fruit?" Bill asked.

"Yeah, sure," Harry answered as he moved over to take over the job from Bill. Harry started cutting up watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, kiwi, and threw it in the bowl. He then washed blue berries and added them. He gently tossed them together. He placed the bowl of fruit on the table. He wiped his hands on a dish towel and asked "Is there anything else I can help with?"

"No, we are good. Did you pour drinks?" Bill responded, looking up from the bacon.

"Yes I did. I poured all of us orange juice. Is that okay or should I make some tea too?" Harry answered promptly.

"Nope orange juice is good for me," Charlie said as he flipped pancakes. "Though you should have some milk, too. You like milk, don't you?"

"Yeah, I have no problem with milk. I didn't get it growing up. The first time I had it was at Hogwarts. It took me a few weeks to get used to the taste. Ron was actually the one who insisted I drink it after my first Quidditch injury." Harry stated looking at his brothers.

"Then pour yourself a glass and, if you would, I'd appreciate it if you would pour me one as well." Bill said looking at Harry.

"Do you want a glass too, Charlie?" Harry asked looking at the dragon tamer.

"No, thank you, Ormand. I do not like milk." Charlie said with a smile.

Within a few minutes Bill and Charlie were placing platters of pancakes and bacon on the table. Bill and Charlie took their seats, filled their plates and started to eat. Harry was just sitting there, starting to panic slightly. He wasn't sure what to do. He knew he was allowed to eat, that he was expected to, but all the conditioning from the Dursley's was coming through too strongly. What Bill, Charlie, Fred, George and Ron had been telling him was warring against what the Dursley's had imposed upon him. He didn't know what to do. Harry looked up from the tabletop to see Bill watching him.

"Harry, go ahead and fill your plate up." Bill said firmly, yet kindly.

Harry reached out with a slightly trembling hand and put a pancake on his plate, then a piece of bacon and a small spoonful of fruit.

"Okay, now put two more pancakes, another three pieces of bacon and another spoonful of fruit on your plate." Bill said before he took a bite of his pancakes.

Harry hesitated for a second, looking between Bill and Charlie.

"Go ahead." Bill encouraged.

Harry reached out and tentatively did as he was told, glancing at Bill and Charlie a few times. After that he started to eat slowly, still glancing between his brothers. They both offered the boy smiles as they ate their own breakfasts.

"Do you want to talk bout what we are going to do today?" Bill asked after a few minutes of eating in silence.

"We have plans for the day?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, we do." Bill answered.

Harry waited for Bill to say something but Bill just took another bite of his breakfast. Harry looked at Charlie, who just smirked at him. Harry glanced at Bill, who smiled at him.

"Well… are you going to tell me what we are doing today?" Harry asked in an odd tone as he looked at Bill.

"Oh! That's what you were waiting for." Bill said in a tone of mock surprise.

"Yeah," Harry responded in a jokingly mocking tone. "That's what I am waiting for."

Bill and Charlie looked at him in shock. Harry started to panic when they just looked at him.

"I- I'm sorry-" Harry started to stutter.

"No! Harry that's fine!" Bill said in a reassuring tone.

"Yeah, Ormand. That's good. We were just surprised and very glad that you felt comfortable enough to joke with us." Charlie confirmed quietly.

"Oh," Harry said in a small, upset voice. "I'm sor-"

"Kiddo, you don't have anything to be sorry about." Bill interrupted gently. "It is okay, I promise."

They fell into an awkward silence. Harry didn't look up; he just pushed his food around his plate. He felt stupid for overreacting.

"So, you want to know what we are doing today?" Bill asked watching Harry closely.

"Yes, please." Harry responded meekly.

Bill stifled a sigh of disappointment before responding. "We are going to go get you some clothing. For both here and back in London, get some stuff to decorate your room, set up your room and, if you are up for it, we'll have dinner with the team."

"That sounds good." Harry said quietly after a moment of thought.

"You guys are going to have a lot of fun." Charlie told Harry after a moment.

"You aren't going with us?" Harry questioned, surprised.

"Nope. This will give you guys a chance to bond." Charlie said cheerfully. "I'm going to visit some of my friends in Romania this weekend. Fred and George are staying in their flat. They are having Ron over for the weekend."

"Ron will enjoy that." Harry said. "I'm glad you are getting the chance to see your friends. I take it there is no Order stuff this weekend."

"No, there isn't. Not for us anyway. Kiddo, I had my will changed yesterday. I made Charlie your guardian, should something happen to me before you turn seventeen." Bill said gently, reaching out and taking Harry's hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb.

"What are you talking about?" Harry demanded pulling away from Bill. He pushed away from the table, leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. He completely shut down. Bill stood up and reached out for the boy, intending to hold him, but Harry pulled away again.

"No." Harry said in a trembling voice. "NO!" He turned to run back to his room but Charlie stood up and gently pinned him against his chest.

"Calm down, baby brother, just calm down and listen." Charlie said soothingly.

Harry tried to pull away but Charlie tightened his hold. "I told you to calm down." Charlie repeated firmly. "You need to listen Harry. _**Now… Calm… Down**_."

Harry tried to pull away again. "No! He-he, no Charlie, let me go!" He demanded shakily.

"Harrison James Potter!" Charlie snapped. "I said enough!"

Harry went still against him except for the fine trembling running through his body.

"Oh, Harry. I'm not going to hurt you. But you need to calm down and listen to what Bill is trying to tell you." Charlie explained in a soft, soothing tone. "Everything is okay." He shifted his embrace from restraining to comforting as Harry relaxed against him. Charlie started to rub his back, causing the boy to relax. No one said anything for a few minutes. Then Harry pulled away from Charlie and turned to Bill.

"I'm sorry Bill." Harry whispered tremulously, a film of tears glistening in his eyes.

Bill was leaning back against the table, hands in his pockets. He took a deep breath and let it out before he started to speak. "You really need to stop doing that," he scolded in a slightly disappointed tone.

Harry felt the tears well over and trail down his cheeks to fall off his chin. Bill felt his heart break at the sight, but he hardened himself against it.

"Harry, go to your room." Bill ordered tiredly.

Harry looked at Bill in shock and opened his mouth to speak but Bill cut him off. "I did not tell you to speak. I told you to go to your room. _**Go Now**_." Bill stated in a hard tone.

Harry turned and hurried to his room.

When he got to his room he closed the boor behind him, curled up on his bed with a pillow clutched to his chest and cried. His whole body shook with the force of his sobs. He buried his face in the pillow trying to muffle the sound. After a few minutes he got himself back under control and scooted to the head of the bed. He pulled his knees to his chest with the pillow sandwiched between them and his chest. He reburied his face in it. It took Harry a few more minutes to calm down the rest of the way.

"Good job, Potter," Harry whispered to himself with contempt. "You completely messed this up. You make Bill punish you the first morning you are with him. Really great job." Harry reached up and swiped at the tears that started to fall again. He laid his head back down on his knees, silently berating himself for making Bill angry. Harry took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. It took him few more minutes and several more deep breaths.

"Okay Potter, calm the hell down and think for one damn minute about what he actually said. He said if something happens to him Charlie would have guardianship of me. _**If something happened to him**_. He wasn't saying he wanted to get rid of me. I need to start listening before I start reacting. I trust Bill, but it's one to say it and another to show it. I need to start showing it. We were talking about the Order. It makes sense he mentioned it then." Harry said in a quiet, firm voice before he sighed. "You need to show Bill you can be reasonable. That you can be mature." Harry laid his head back down on his knees and turned his head to face the wall, feeling horrible and sad.

Ten minutes later there was a knock on his door.

"Come-" Harry's voice broke, so he cleared his throat and tried again. "Come in."

The door slowly opened and Bill came in.

"I think we need to talk." Bill announced gently.

Harry nodded and offered a soft "Yes, sir."

"Okay, never call me sir. Not even if I'm angry with you do you have to call me sir. I'm your big brother that never changes. Understand?" Bill explained from beside the bed.

"Y-yeah," Harry answered in a small voice.

"Do you mind if I sit?" Bill inquired motioning to the bed.

"No, go ahead." Harry said quietly.

Bill climbed in beside Harry, positioning himself in the corner where the walls meet at the head of the bed. He stuck a pillow behind his back.

"Do you understand why I sent you back here, to your room?" Bill questioned gently.

"Yeah, to punish me for getting so upset before and for ignoring commands from both you and Charlie." Harry responded quietly, looking at the comforter.

"Harry," Bill murmured in shock. He cleared his throat and spoke a little louder and with compassion. "Harry look at me." Bill paused again, waiting for Harry to look at him.

Harry looked up from the comforter at Bill.

"Harry," Bill continued in the same tone. "I did not send you back here to punish you Kiddo. I sent you back here to give you time to calm down. Charlie was frightening you and I needed a few minutes to figure out what to say to help you understand." He reached out and ran a hand through Harry's longish black locks. Then he opened his arms to Harry, letting the boy decide if he wanted to be held. Harry slowly moved over toward Bill. He looked up at Bill and the older man smiled down at him, his arms still open invitingly. Harry moved the rest of the way into his brother's arms. Those long, strong arms wrapped around him and Harry laid his head down on Bill's shoulder.

"I thought you were mad at me." Harry confessed sadly.

"No baby boy. I wasn't mad at you. If I'm every angry with you I will tell you, not just let you wonder. I promise." Bill said soothingly before kissing the top of his head. Harry burrowed closer to Bill. The red head's chest rumbled with laughter under Harry's head. "Comfortable?" Bill asked with another small laugh.

"Yeah," Harry mumbled.

"Okay, Harry, we need to talk about what happened earlier." Bill said quietly.

"Okay. Yeah, I know and I get it now." Harry confirmed.

"Get what sweetheart?" Bill wanted to know.

"What you were talking about. I figured it out while I was back here." Harry told Bill. "You- I didn't really listen to what you were saying. Once I calmed down a bit, I realized what you had really said. I'm sorry I freaked out without really listening to you. It doesn't just hurt me when I do that, it hurts you too. I'm so sorry Bill, for the way that I have acted. I never meant to hurt you." Harry said, his voice muffled by Bill's shirt.

Bill gently rubbed a hand up and down the boy's back causing Harry to lean more into Bill.

"We'll work on it together, how does that sound little brother? And you are, and always will be, forgiven." Bill said into Harry's hair.

"That sounds good." Harry answered.

They sat like that for several minutes. Harry snuggled into Bill's chest and Bill's cheek resting against the top of Harry's head. Periodically Bill would kiss the top of Harry's head.

"You understand that I don't want to get rid of you, right?" Bill asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah, I do Bill. I was being stupid." Harry sighed softly.

"Okay, first of all you were not being stupid and I never want to hear you call yourself that again. Baby boy, with your past it's normal to be a bit insecure. It's okay." Bill said before pausing and kissing the top of the boy's head. His voice got softer, more emotional as he continued. "I gave you a family but Kiddo; you gave me a family of my own. You brought purpose back into my life. Sure, I have my job and some meaningless girlfriends and my parents and siblings, but you… You Kiddo, bring true meaning into my life. I'm not ready for a wife and babies but I've wanted someone to take care of. A family of my own. You're my family; you're what I have been wanting, what I have been needing. I love you so much and I am so glad you are with me. I look forward to teaching you what you need to know, to spending time with you, to watching you finish growing into the amazing, strong, honorable man you are becoming."

Harry pulled back to look up at his brother. Bill had tears in his blue eyes. Harry threw his arms around Bill and whispered in a choked voice "I love you too big brother. I am so glad that you are getting something out of this too. I was feeling bad because I am getting so much out of this but I felt like you were getting nothing. Now I know that you are just as happy as I am with this situation." Harry sniffed quietly.

"Oh, baby boy," Bill whispered as he wiped way a tear trailing slowly down the boy's cheek. "Happy tears?"

"I could ask you the same question." Harry said with a happy smile that lights up his whole face, before rolling away from the red head. When he was standing beside the bed he looked at Bill and asked "What now?"

"Now," the older man said while getting up. "We go get you some clothing and decorations for your room. Now, hold still for a second while I shrink your clothes so you are not losing them."

Harry stood still while Bill shrunk his clothes with a flick of his wand. Harry stiffened as his clothing became more form fitting.

"You okay there Kiddo?" Bill asked with a laugh.

"Yeah, I am. That just felt weird." Harry answered with a smile.

"Yeah, it is an odd feeling for the first few times." Bill confirmed as he ruffled Harry's hair. "How about we get the clothing shopping done so we can get to the fun stuff?"

"Sounds good to me." Harry said as they left his room. When they got to the living room Harry looked around. "Where is Charlie?"

"He had to go meet some of his friends but he said he would stop back in later tonight to talk with you." Bill answered.

"Was he still angry at me?" Harry questioned in a soft, tentative voice, looking at the floor.

"He was never angry, Kiddo. I swear he wasn't." Bill corrected kindly.

"Okay, I believe you." Harry said.

"Alright, grab your shoes and we'll get out of here." Bill said as he found his boots, pulled them on and laced them up.

Harry hurried back to his room and grabbed his trainers. He pulled them on then headed back out to meet Bill.

AN: well folks that's it for this chapter. I'm sorry again that you had to wait so long for it but I hope it was worth the wait. I'll get chapter six out as soon as I can. Thank you for reading and if you have the time let me know what you think. Next chapter Harry meets Bill's team, so my question to y'all is should they like him, not like him or a combination of both? Let me know what you think, if you have an opinion. Until next time,

Lynn


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note:

Hey y'all! Sorry it's been so long since I've had a chapter for you; real life has been kind of crazy. Anyway, here is an extra long chapter for you all. I hope you enjoy it.

I own nothing you recognize! Oh and the Egyptian dishes in here I did look up but, seeing as I've never had the privilege of seeing Egypt I cannot confirm 100 percent they are right, so I apologize if they might be incorrect. I do not mean any offense if they are wrong.

Thank you to my beta moonyxforever for looking this over for me.

Chapter 6

Harry and Bill made their way over to the fireplace.

"Okay, kiddo. Are you ready to go?" Bill asked looking down at the young man beside him.

"Yep. I can't wait to see Cairo. That's where we're going, right?" Harry responded looking up at the red head.

"Yep, that's where we are going. Are you comfortable using the Floo?" Bill asked.

"I think so," Harry offered slightly uncertain. "I haven't used it all that much."

"I know. Okay, here is what we are going to do. I'm going to go first, if anything, you might go too far. So I'll be at the other end waiting for you. If you do not come out on your own I'll be able to pull you out. Just remember _to take your time_. Once you put the Floo powder in you can take as much time as you need. The fire will not change back on you. So, once you have stepped in, take a deep breath, and state Cairo Alley Ministry Entrance clearly. It is better to over enunciate than not speak clearly enough." Bill explained looking down at his charge. He ran a hand over the ebony hair. "Are you ready?"

Harry took a deep breath, let it out slowly and said softly "yeah. Let's do this."

"You will do fine," Bill said in a reassuring tone. "Just remember what we talked about and you will be fine."

"Okay, you're right. I've got this," Harry said as he stood a little taller.

"Okay then. I'll see you on the other side," Bill said playfully as he tossed his own handful of Floo powder in, stepped into the fireplace and said clearly "Cairo Alley Ministry Entrance" before vanishing away with a soft _swoosh_.

Harry took a deep breath and then threw in his own handful. He stepped into the green flames and said "Cairo Alley Ministry Entrance". He pulled his elbows in close to his body and forced his eyes to remain open, searching for Bill. When he saw the man moments later he forced himself out. He stopped so suddenly that he started to fall only to have strong arms wrap around his shoulders, pulling him upright.

"You did it, kiddo!" Bill praised happily.

"Yeah, it wasn't that bad," Harry remarked as he started to straighten his clothing. Bill brushed a bit of dust off Harry's shoulder.

"Okay, you ready to go?" Bill inquired.

Harry looked up at Bill and looked around for the first time. They were in an empty room with two walls of fireplaces. He watched as one side people came out of and the other side was used for people leaving.

"This is like the Ministry," Harry commented softly.

"Who do you think they got the idea from? This is the Egyptian Ministry of Magic. This is the entrance to the Alley from the Ministry. Unlike Diagon Alley, which only has one point of entry, this has three different ones. One here, one in Gringotts and another in a Muggle hotel. We came in this way because we need to register you as my ward and in the country. This is the only time we will need to do so. You will get a magical passport, with Britain being your home country, same as mine, and the Department of Transportation will magically log it when you leave and enter the country. It will do the same with when we go back to England. If you ever do not want to be traced, do not carry it with you; however it is illegal to enter a country without one. If you are caught you may face prison time or whatever other punishment the government you are in wants to give." Bill lectured as they walked down a nondescript hallway. "This time you are okay, because I informed Gringotts that you are my ward and they helped me clear it with the Egyptian government for you to enter without one."

Harry nodded as he listened to Bill. It was slightly overwhelming, he had never thought about a magical citizen needing a passport before. But it did make sense for a government, magical or not, to know who is in their country at all times. "It makes sense," Harry said softly.

Bill stopped and looked down at Harry. "What's wrong, Harry?" Bill asked in concern and slight confusion. "You were fine a minute ago, what changed?"

"Is it safe?" Harry questioned in a small voice, feeling bad for questioning Bill, but needing an answer. He looked up at him with pleading, unsure eyes.

Bill glanced around before reaching out and taking Harry's arm. He pulled him gently over to the wall and said in a soft, intense voice "Is what safe?"

Harry hesitated, seeing how confused Bill was.

"Harry, I cannot settle your fears until you tell me what they are," Bill said quietly.

Harry took a deep breath and paused. Bill gave him an encouraging smile, giving him the courage he needed to voice his fear. "Can you be found using your passport?"

Bill looked shocked for a moment as what Harry asked sank in. Then a saddened look came over his face. When Harry saw the sad look on Bill's face he started biting his lower lip, eyes darting around the deserted hallway. Bill reached out toward Harry's face slowly causing Harry to tense.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Bill said, his voice a deep rumble in his chest as he kept his arm where it was.

Harry nodded once as he bit his lip a little harder. Bill moved his hand closer to Harry's face and gently tugged the abused lip from between the clenched teeth. He wiped the pad of his thumb over it, feeling the puncture wounds from the boy's teeth. When he pulled his hand away his thumb was stained red. Harry looked up at him through his eyelashes and bangs and fought the urge to bite his lip again. Bill looked at the boy in front of him as he pulled out his wand and cast a minor healing charm.

"No more biting your lip," he admonished softly as he put his wand back in his holster.

Harry nodded again.

"Harry," Bill sighed. "I'm not angry with you."

"You… you looked upset, when I asked you about the passport," Harry stuttered slightly.

Bill reached out to cup the back of Harry's head in his palm and pulled him close. He bent down slightly so he could speak into his ear. "I wasn't upset with you. It made me sad that you had to worry about that. It was a smart question to ask, I just wish you didn't have to ask it."

"Oh," Harry said softly as he leaned into Bill.

"I will never be upset with you for asking questions. Asking questions is not a crime. I might not always answer your questions at the time but I promise they will always be addressed. Now, as for your passport being used to track your whereabouts, no it cannot be. Each magical government has a small department of witches and wizards to monitor passports; however, no one knows who they are. They are kind of like our Unspeakables in that regard. That was set up for everyone's safety." Bill explained gently. "I would never do something that would put you in danger. If bringing you here would have put you in danger, I never would have offered to bring you here. I think you will be safer here over all. Voldemort has made advances here but Egyptian wizarding law is more sever. The Ministry is not as corrupt, so laws are enforced more. Unless you have permission by the Ministry you cannot use the Dark Arts. If you are found using them you get prison time. Even if it is your first offense. Yes, we have crime and you'll have to use some common sense, but I really do believe you will be safer here. You ready to go?" Bill said looking down at Harry, waiting patiently for an answer.

Harry looked up at Bill intently, reading his open, honest expression before saying "Yeah, okay. I'm good to go."

Bill smiled down at him, stroked his hair once, and then dropped his hand to Harry's shoulder.

"Let's get this done so we can move on to the fun stuff," Bill said as he started leading Harry down the hall again. A set of stairs and a few turns later they were standing in front of a friendly looking blond witch sitting behind a desk in the Passport division of the Transportation office.

"Hello, how many I help you today?" She asked with a smile.

"Hi, I need to get my ward a passport," Bill said returning the smile.

"Okay. We will need his birth certificate, your guardianship papers and you will need to fill out an application," she said as she held up a small stack of parchment.

Bill pulled out his own pack and handed them to her as he took the forms from her.

"While you are doing that, I will make duplicates of these," she said as she got to work on Harry's documents.

Bill thanked her and motioned Harry over to a chair at the table.

"Your situation is unique. Usually you have to get passports from your country of origin, but Gringotts helped me set this up." Bill explained as he looked over the forms. When he was done reading the first page he gave it to Harry to read.

"Do you want me to fill it out?" Harry asked seeing the blank spaces.

"No, I'll fill it out. I just thought you would like to see what it says. If you don't want to, that is fine," Bill responded.

"No, I want to. Thank you," Harry said, casting a grateful smile at Bill.

"No problem, Kiddo," the man answered.

Harry looked back down at the pages in his hand, Bill had handed him another page, and started to read them. As Bill would finish one he would hand it to Harry. When Harry would finish reading one he would hand it back to Bill to fill out. It took Bill only a few minutes to fill out all the forms. He had to ask Harry a few questions he didn't know the answer to. Within ten minutes Bill was handing the pages back to the witch behind the counter. She smiled at him again and fluttered the lashes of her big green eyes at him.

"Thank you," she purred. "Here are your _wards_-" Bill shot her a dark look causing her smile to become forced, scan the papers and stutter the rest out. "Harry's paperwork back. Give me another ten minutes and you'll have your war- Harry's passport,"

"Okay, thank you," Bill said tightly before returning to Harry, who was looking out a window into the city below.

"Is that Cairo?" Harry asked as he used his right hand to motion slightly toward the window.

"Yes it is. The Ministry is in the middle of Cairo. Granted this is the magical section of Cairo," Bill answered.

Harry just nodded. Bill watched Harry look out of the window. Harry could feel the older mans' eyes on him but he continued looking out the window.

"I'm sorry, Bill," Harry whispered.

"For what?" Bill asked his blue eyes widening and his red eyebrows going up.

"You're doing so much for me. Have already done so much…" Harry trailed off and shook his head slightly. "Even after everything, I still wish Sirius was here," Harry whispered closing his eyes against the film of tears.

"Harry, that's okay. Of course you wish he was here. He was your godfather and nothing can or ever will change that. I love having you in my life, but I wish he was here too, to spare you this pain. You miss him and that's okay," Bill whispered comfortingly. "You don't have to be sorry for wishing he was here."

"I just, I didn't want you to think I'm not grateful or that I don't care about you," Harry tried to explain, wringing his hands.

"I understand, but Harry, surely you know he would want you to be happy. That it's okay for you to be happy. Yes, you will be sad, it's still going to hurt and that is okay too," Bill said compassion shining in his voice.

"Yeah, I know, I'm just…" Harry trailed off as he shook his head.

"Struggling," Bill finished for him gently.

Bill reached out and lightly squeezed Harry's wrist. Harry looked up at him and offered a small smile.

"I'm okay," Harry announced softly.

Bill raised an eyebrow at the boy beside him. The skepticism was clear on his face.

"Rather, I will be okay. I might not be right now but I _will_ be given time," Harry corrected himself softly.

"It's good that you know that," the older man said quietly.

"I didn't before, it felt like I would drown in the pain and the loneliness, but you guys, Ron, the twins, Charlie, you, you made me realize I will be okay. It gets better, it just takes time," Harry commented quietly looking down at Bills' hand on his writs.

"Yeah, it does," Bill answered.

Harry looked up at him with a smile.

"Mr. Weasley, I've got your war- Harry's passport finished," the witch called.

Bill stood, motioned for Harry to come with him and went up to the desk. Bill took the passport from the witch.

"Thank you, I hope you enjoy your stay in Egypt," she said with a last flirtatious smile at Bill.

"Thank you. We will," Bill responded with a polite smile before turning to Harry and saying cheerfully "C'mon, kid. We've got some shopping to do."

Harry smiled back at Bill and said softly "Yeah, let's go."

Bill draped an arm across his shoulders and gently steered him out of the building. When they exited the doors outside the heat hit them like a brick wall. Harry's breath caught in his throat and he felt sweat form on his brow.

"I know, Kiddo, but you'll adjust, I promise. And the clothes we will buy will have charms on them to help keep you cool," Bill soothed softly.

"I'm okay," Harry said quietly. "I just wasn't expecting it to be quiet this hot."

Bill ruffled Harry's hair with a smile before guiding him down the street. The ended up in front of Galdrags.

"How many stores do they have worldwide?" Harry asked.

Bill laughed warmly. "I take it you thought it was just a British company."

"Uh, yeah, pretty much," Harry said sheepishly.

The older man smiled as he answered "I think they have stores in every major shopping districts in wizarding communities around the world."

"Makes sense," Harry commented.

Without another word Bill guided Harry into the store.

"Okay," Bill said glancing around the store quickly. "We need the young mens' section. Do you know what sizes you wear?"

Harry glanced down at the floor before confessing softly "No, I don't. I've only ever worn Dudley's cast offs."

Bill reached out and tapped him under his chin until he looked up. Blue eyes locked with green as Bill said in a soft, intense tone "you have nothing to be ashamed of. The fact that you don't know your sizes isn't your fault. Besides, that is easy enough to fix."

Bill pulled out his wand and waved it over Harry while uttering an incantation. Two pieces of parchment appeared in front of Bill. He reached out and grabbed them before handing one to Harry.

"Okay, these are your sizes. I need you to understand something, Harry. Are you listening to me?" Bill said looking intently at the young man.

Harry looked up at Bill. "Yeah, I'm listening," he said quietly.

"I am buying your clothing and whatever else we get today. I do not want you to worry about the prices of anything. You need a whole new wardrobe, some stuff for your room and some games and books. I know that it's going to get a bit expensive and that is okay. I can afford to splurge on you. What's more, I want to. Can we agree on that?" Bill told Harry quietly, carefully watching his reaction.

"I, I don't know. I've never had someone else buy me stuff before, I don't know. The only thing I can say is I'll try. The few good articles of clothing I have I bought myself with money I worked for. I've never accepted charity," Harry said with a bit of uncertainty.

"Kiddo, it's not charity. You are mine now. Mine to finish raising, mine to take care of, and mine to care for." Bill responded with a warm smile as he reached out to pull the boy closer to him. Bill gently bumped his arm into Harry's before saying "Okay? Are we good to get started?"

"Yeah," Harry breathed out. "Let's go."

They set out across the store looking for signs that point to the young mens' section. They finally found it on the second floor.

"Okay, you need at least seven pairs of jeans, three pairs of dress trousers, twelve to fourteen tee shirts, several sweaters and sweat shirts, three dress shirts, pajamas, under shirts, underwear, socks, dress shoes, trainers, boots… Did I miss anything?" Bill turned to look at Harry as he asked the last part.

Harry just looked at Bill with wide eyes. "Uh," Harry struggled for words. "I dunno."

Bill laughed as he wrapped his arm around Harry. "Okay, we'll figure it out as we go. Right then, jeans are right here so let's start with them. I think you'll probably be the most comfortable with relaxed fit. They won't be too tight or too baggy. Which do you like?" Bill inquired as he looked through the rack. "Light, stone, or dark wash?"

"Bill, you've got more style then I do. What do you think?" Harry asked, eyeing the pants in the older man's hands.

"I think any of them will look good on you. Go try these on." Bill directed, thrusting several pair of jeans at him.

"Is there a difference between these except color?" Harry asked confused.

Bill laughed warmly again as he pulled several out of the pile in Harry's arms to explain patiently "These are relaxed fit," he pulled a few more out of his arms "These are low rise, which means they will sit at your hips instead of higher up at your waist. The ones you are holding are a bit baggier than the relaxed fit." Bill gave them back to Harry in their groups. "When you've tried them on let me see at least one of each style, please. I want to be sure the sizes are right," he explained.

"Okay," the young man mumbled looking around. "Where do I try these on at?"

Bill glanced around for a minute before finally spotting a fitting area. "Down there," he said pointing toward it. "Let's go."

"Right behind you," Harry responded with a smile.

"Your arms tired yet?" Bill asked over his shoulder as he made his way toward the fitting rooms.

"No, but these are heavier than I thought they would be," he said with a shake of his head, trying to move the black locks from in front of his eyes.

"Okay, choose a stall to change in. When you come be sure the door doesn't lock behind you. If it does it's not that big of a deal, we'd just have to find a sales assistant," Bill instructed before motioning Harry into the fitting room with exaggerated movements from his hands, causing Harry to laugh as he chose a room.

Harry went to the first unoccupied fitting room and pulled the door shut behind him. He hung up the jeans on the door. The stone at the top of the door lit up with a soft blue glow. Harry looked at it in confusion before he glanced at the rest of the small room. There was a mirror to the left of the door, a small bench at the back wall and the other wall was blank except for a hook. He pulled off his shoes and cotton trousers Bill gave him earlier. He folded them and set the soft cotton pants on the bench as he kicked his shoes under the bench so he didn't trip over them. He turned, grabbed the first pair of jeans and pulled them on. Harry looked in the mirror before he left the fitting room. He shut the door carefully behind him, making sure it didn't latch.

"Hey Bill?" Harry called as he wandered out of the fitting area.

The jeans were too long without shoes. An inch or so was pooling around this feet. Bill came back into sight from around the corner of the fitting area.

"Hey, Kiddo! Looking good! How do they feel? Are they comfortable?" Bill fired off with a grin at the black haired kid.

Harry looked at him deadpan as he said "Hey big brother, thank you, good, yes."

Bill smiled at Harry before saying sarcastically "Funny."

Harry grinned at him as he arched his left eyebrow.

"Which ones are they?" Bill asked as he reached out and gently pushed the side of the boy's head, before ruffling his hair slightly.

"Uh, I dunno," he said ducking the hand in his hair. "The relaxed fit."

"You telling me or asking me?" Bill questioned with a bemused smile.

"Telling you, the relaxed fit are in the front, then the low rise and lastly the baggy. I like the dark wash. I think they make me look taller," Harry responded.

Bill looked him over again then said "Yeah, they do. They look good. Go put on another pair," Bill told Harry.

"Okay and thanks!" Harry said back over his shoulder as he made his way back into the fitting room.

Twenty minutes later Harry and Bill were standing outside the fitting area.

"Okay, I like all the relaxed fit and the low rise. I don't like the baggy ones. They remind me of Dudley's clothes," he said to Bill, slightly uncertain.

"I agree with you. I think the first six look great on you," Bill confirmed.

"So which of the six should I get?" Harry asked looking up at Bill.

"You're getting them all." Bill stated.

"What? Bill I don't need-" Harry started.

Bill cut in, saying in a firm tone "Yes you do. In fact we are going to see if we can find a few more."

"Bill, do I really need that many pairs of jeans? I mean, most of the year I'll be at school and unable to wear anything other than my uniforms except on the weekends. So does it really make sense for me to have that many jeans? Plus, you want me to get dress trousers as well," Harry tried to reason.

"I thought you were going to let me buy you what you need?" Bill said studying his baby brother.

"I just, I don't, I don't think I need that much clothing," Harry forced out.

Bill reached out and gently forced the boy's head up with a hand under his chin. "If you don't agree with me that is fine. We'll talk about it. Disagreeing with me won't get you into trouble. As long as you are respectful when you disagree with me I won't be angry with you. You do not have to be afraid of disagreeing with me," Bill said in a gentle, comforting tone as he dropped his hand. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Harry confirmed, blowing out a deep breath. "I get it. I, all I can say is that I'll try."

"Harry, that's all I'm asking of you. To try. I know it's going to be hard for you for a while, but as long as you are trying, how could I be anything but proud of you," Bill said affectionately before reaching out to stroke Harry's hair. "Now," he continued in a business like tone. "What is this about you not needing that many jeans? That is a pair for everyday of the week. That is definitely not an excess amount of jeans. I will admit I would like nothing more than to spoil you but I also know you would not be comfortable with that. So, we are keeping everything to an average amount. Yes, you could get by with less, but then you would be doing laundry twice a week or so. If you don't have to why would you want to? I also realize you can usually wear pants more than once before needing to wash them. I'll compromise with you; we'll stop at six pairs and move onto shirts. Sound good?"

Harry looked up at him, took a deep breath and let it out before responding with a soft "Yeah."

Bill guided him over to the racks and shelves of short sleeved and long sleeved tee shirts.

"I'm thinking we can pick you up some polo shirts as well. What do you think?" Bill purposed as they looked through racks.

"Yeah, sure," Harry said looking up from the green long sleeved shirt he was looking at.

"You really don't care what clothes you wear, do you?" Bill asked amusement shining from his blue eyes.

"Bill," Harry said on an exhale. "After what they made me wear almost anything is a step up or a leap up. But no, as long as it fits right, is in at least decent condition and is comfortable, I really don't care what I wear."

"Okay," Bill said with a smile. "That's okay. Most of the time I feel that way too. I'd rather be comfortable than try to impress everyone with the way I look. It's all about comfort, really, because if you are not comfortable in your own clothing, it shows."

Harry smiled back at him before he went back to looking through racks. Over the next hour and a half they found seven polo shirts for him in white, black, sky blue, plum, emerald green, scarlet, and light gray. They also found several short and long sleeved tee shirts. Some were plain colors while others had sayings or graphics on them. They then found him several pairs of cream colored light cotton pants and tunics that would be perfect for daylight hours in Egypt. After that they moved on to underclothing and pajamas. Finally they got him boot, trainers and dress shoes.

"Well, Kiddo, I do believe we have everything we came for. What'd you think? Are we good to go or do you want anything else?" Bill asked as he set the basket he was carrying on the ground and stretched out his back.

Harry put his basket down beside Bill's and said in a soft, tired voice "Nope. I really think I'm good to go." He looked up at Bill and said with a slight smile "Thank you for this."

"You're welcome, Har. Let's go pay for this so we can go get stuff for your room," Bill said as he picked up his basket again.

"What do I need in my room?" Harry asked picking up his own basket and following the red head.

Bill stopped walking, causing Harry to almost run into him. He turned around and looked down at him. "Kiddo, the only thing in your room is a bed."

Harry just looked at him.

Bill looked down at the boy beside him with a slightly sad look in his eyes, shook his head and slung an arm around Harry's shoulders before saying "You need a desk, a desk chair, maybe an armchair, bookshelves, posters or decorations for you walls, different bedding if you want it and other knick knacks."

"Knick knacks?" Harry asked looking up at his oldest brother with an eyebrow arched slightly.

Bill pushed his shoulder slightly as he moved his arm and said "Yes knick knacks. You know decorations for your room. Speaking of which, what are you interested in?"

"That was a little random Bill," Harry commented.

"Not really. Your interests should be shown in your room. So, again, what are you interested in?" Bill said with an easy going smile.

Harry looked off into space for a bit. His head tilted to the right, his eyes still distant as he started softly "Well, not many people know this, no one I see on a daily basis anyway, but I play the guitar and draw and paint when I have the time."

"That's cool. I'd love to hear you play sometime and see what you have drawn and painted." Bill said softly.

Harry shook his head to clear it before looking up at Bill in slight surprise. "I've never told anyone that."

He smiled warmly down at Harry before saying "I'm glad you told me. Do you have your guitar and art supplies here?"

"Yeah, they are in my trunk. I got cases for both so that they shrink when put away for easier storage. It's nice. At first I was worried about damaging my equipment or work but it doesn't." Harry said.

They paid quickly and had everything put into a single bag which then Bill shrunk and stuck in his pocket.

"Okay, next stop Urban Home," Bill announced once they were outside.

"I'm following you," Harry pointed out when Bill stopped to look at him.

"I know that Kiddo. I just wanted to make sure you were still with me. So what do you think of Cairo so far? Besides it being hot?" Bill answered with a smile, drawing the boy up beside him with a gentle hand on his elbow.

"It's nice. I think I'll enjoy spending time here. I'm really looking forward to meeting you team though," the boy confessed.

Bill smiled down at him. "They are looking forward to meeting you too. So dinner with them tonight sounds good to you, it won't be too much for you?"

Harry shook his head causing hair to fall into his emerald green eyes. He pushed it back with an irritated jerk of his hand. "No, I'm actually looking forward to it."

Bill watched Harry fight with his hair before offering "I could cut that for you."

"No, that's okay. I'm trying to let it grow out a bit. I hope it'll be more manageable that way. I don't want it as long as yours, not that there is anything wrong with yours. I don't really want it longer than my collar or so. Just enough to hopefully get it to stay down," Harry explained.

Bill looked at him appraisingly before murmuring "Yeah that would look good on you."

They stood there for another minute with Bill looking at Harry. Harry was becoming more amused as time passed but finally he broke into the older man's thoughts by saying quietly "Bill, we need to go."

"Oh, yeah, right, sorry. Let's go get you some stuff for your room." Bill said shaking himself out of his stupor.

Bill set off back up the street. As he passed stores he kept up a running commentary for Harry about what the stores they were passing sold. Harry kept looking at Bill out of the corner of his eyes, concerned. Bill wasn't acting like himself and Harry was unsure why. When they arrived outside of Urban Homes Bill motioned him inside first then followed him into the cool store. Harry looked around him in slight awe.

"There is so much… _stuff_," he mumbled.

"Yep, let's go. Okay we need to find a desk that you like," Bill said setting off toward the back of the store with Harry trailing along behind him.

The spent ten minutes before Harry found one he liked. It was a maple colored wood with a black metal frame. It was slightly larger than the average desk but it had storage below the desk built in with two drawers on one side and an open space with shelves on the other. They took a slip of parchment that had stamped on it the desk number. They then found a straight backed metal desk chair. It had a blue seat cover on it. The metal on the back formed a dragon with its wings spread open sitting behind an egg. Bill and Harry shared a smile when they saw it.

"I like this one, Bill," Harry said quietly.

Bill was already taking a slip of parchment from the holder as he answered "Yeah, I thought you might."

They quickly found some shelving and light fixtures before making their way toward the check out. When it was their turn the witch took the slips of parchment from Bill, looked at them, asked Bill where he would like them delivered to and after she had her answer she waved her wand over them. The slips glowed orange then faded away.

"Your purchases will arrive at your destination within an hour. Your total will be thirty seven Galleons, twelve Sickles and eight Knuts," the witch said in a bored tone, not looking at either guy before her. She accepted the money Bill gave her, counted it again before saying in the same monotone "Have a pleasant day."

Harry and Bill went back outside into the heat.

"Are you hungry Harry?" Bill asked looking down at Harry. "We have time to grab a light lunch."

"Yeah, I'm starting to get hungry," Harry said quietly.

"Okay, there is a good café back the way we came. Let's go get some lunch before we start on your room," Bill said as he turned to go back the way they came.

"I noticed there is a mix of wizarding robes and cotton pants and tunics like we are wearing, who wears what here?" Harry asked looking around at the different people.

"Good question, Kiddo," Bill praised with a happy smile.

Harry smiled up at him as Bill continued in the same tone "The people who are wearing robes are foreigners. The ones wearing clothing like ours are either nationals or people who work here, like me. People like me who work here are not considered nationals. We live here but we are not given that title. You have to live and work here for something like twenty years before they will grant you that title. Oh, here we are." Bill said as they walked up to the café.

They went into the cool building and were greeted by a waiter.

"Just two of you today gentlemen?" he asked in English.

"Yes, thank you," Bill replied.

The waiter led them to a table by the windows at the front right side of the building.

"May I take your drink orders or do you need time to decide?" he asked politely.

"We will both have Shai, please," Bill responded.

"Of course. I will give you time to look at the menu." he said before leaving to get their drinks.

Harry looked up at Bill, from a menu that he couldn't read most of, patiently waiting for an explanation.

Seeing the look Bill said "Mint tea," before looking back at his own menu.

Harry watched him for another minute before asking quietly "You can read this? I don't even know what language this is."

"This," the older man began, looking up from his own menu. "Is Egyptian Arabic or Masri. It is the most commonly spoken language in Egypt but it is not officially recognized. The official language is Standard Arabic. This café is one of the few places you will find Masri written down."

"You read and speak Arabic?" the boy asked with wide eyes. "Why not just use a translation charm?"

"I do use one and I put one on you as well. Most people you will meet will know English, however I have been here a while and I made it a point to pick up the language. Nationals like when we can speak to them in their native tongue. It shows respect for them and their culture. It is something I felt was important to learn."

Harry nodded and said after a minute of thought, "Yeah, I can understand that and the reasoning behind it."

"Are you okay with me ordering for us? There are two dishes here that I believe you will like. The first is gebna makleyah. It is oven-fried cheese. It is served with aish shaami and aish baladi. Aish shaami is bread made from white flour and aish baladi is bread made from whole wheat flour. Aish shaami and aish baladi are like pita bread except aish is chewier and thicker. The other is a dish made with lentils, macaroni, rice and ceci also known as chickpeas. That is called koushari. Koushari is also served with aish shaami and aish baladi. Sound good?" Bill said looking at Harry.

"Yeah, sure, that sounds great," he responded with a smile.

Their waiter came back with their tea and Bill placed their order.

"Bill," Harry said as they were settling in with their tea. "Will you teach me how to say thank you in Masri?"

"Yeah, of course I will," the man responded happily. "Thank you is shukran."

"Shukran," Harry said slowly, sounding it out, trying to pronounce it like Bill pronounced it.

Bill grinned at him and said "Good job!"

"Shukran," Harry said with a grin.

Bill started laughing. They spent the next fifteen minutes talking about what they were going to do to Harry's room when they got back to the flat. When the waiter returned they were talking about where to put Harry's desk in his room. The waiter placed the dishes of food on the table and then gave them some plates.

"Is there anything else I can get for you gentlemen?" He asked with a smile.

"No, thank you," Bill answered.

The waiter smiled again before leaving them to their meal. Bill dished out some gebna makleyah for himself, motioning for Harry to take some koushari. Harry dished himself out a small amount of koushari and took a piece of aish shaami and aish baladi, wanting to try both. Bill passed him the dish of gebna makleyah and took the koushari from him. Harry took a bit of the cheese and a bit more bread. They settled into a relaxing silence as they ate.

"Are you enjoying your lunch?" Bill asked after a few minutes, breaking the comfortable quiet.

"Yeah, Bill, this is really great! I love both!" Harry responded with a big smile before it wilted slightly as he continued saying softly "I, I wasn't sure at first, but this is your home and I wanted to give it a chance. I wanted, want, to experience the Egypt you talk about. You love this place and I hope I will be able to some day as well."

Bill reached across the table, gently took Harry's left hand in his own and squeezed it.

"Just the fact that you want to try, that you even want that at all, means a lot to me. Shukran." Bill said roughly, his blue eyes slightly misty.

Harry smiled back at him, filled with the love that only exists between brothers.

They spent the next forty minutes eating, talking and laughing quietly. Bill watched as Harry relaxed more and more as the time passed. While they were talking about Bill's coworkers Harry went quiet all of a sudden. The smile on his face was replaced by a thoughtful look. Bill let him think for almost five minutes in silence before softly calling out to him.

"Harry? Are you okay? You went quite all of a sudden, is everything okay?"

Harry started slightly before focusing back on Bill.

"Yeah," he said in a slightly hoarse voice. He cleared his throat and continued. "Yeah, I'm good."

"What were you thinking about?" Bill probed gently.

Harry didn't say anything for a minute, gathering his thoughts before saying in a soft, contemplating tone "I… realized as we were sitting here talking… that I have _never felt_ this at home _anywhere_ before. It doesn't matter that we are in a café in a country I haven't even been in for twenty four hours…" he trailed off trying to collect his shaky voice by taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly before continuing in a wondering tone "All that matters is that I'm with you, my big brother, and the knowledge that you wouldn't want me _anywhere_ else. I can see how happy you are with me being here. For the first time in, Merlin I can't remember, I'm not constantly on so high an alert that I can't enjoy myself. If I did this in England, I would be so tense and stressed out, looking for an attack every time someone so much as shifted. I can relax here. No one has started pointing or talking or screaming or cursing me. I'm in public and I'm just…" he trailed off again to control his shaky voice. He ran a hand over his not quite dry eyes and dropped it back down to the table and clenched it into a fist against the emotions racing through him.

Bill reached out and took his hand, gently forcing it open. He cradled it in his own as he stroked the back of it with his thumb.

"Take your time baby brother," Bill whispered.

Harry looked up at Bill and saw tender blue eyes watching him. He felt Bill's strong hand holding his own, his thumb stroking soothingly over the back of it. He relaxed, allowing that small comfort to sooth him.

"For the first time since I entered the wizarding world five years ago I'm in public without being mobbed. For the first time, in so very long, I'm just another face in the crowd. I've missed that feeling so much. I've missed not having to be afraid. I know you would do everything in your power to protect me and that scares me too because I know what the price of that could be, but here… here, it doesn't feel like you'll have to. Thank you for bringing me here." Harry whispered before reaching up and swiping at his eyes again.

Seeing that it was soothing the boy Bill continued to stroke delicate hand in his own. This obviously brought him comfort, but usually Harry refused to let anyone hold or even look at his hands for too long. For the first time he really looked at them and he could clearly see they were the hands of an artist. Long, graceful fingers, finger pads calloused from the guitar, thin, boney hands perfect for holding a paint brush. There was also a scar in the shape of lettering. Bill looked at Harry to see his eyes were closed so he looked closer and his heart clenched at the sight of _I must not tell lies_ carved into the flesh of his baby brother's hand. It made him sick, it made him furious, it made him sad. It was the obvious work of a blood quill and the only place that he would have encountered one was Hogwarts. There was only one person in that school last year who would have used that on a student and that thought made his blood boil.

Harry opened his eyes, managing to have collected himself. He looked at Bill and saw an odd look on his face. There were too many emotions in those blue depths to define all of them, but none looked good. Harry then realized what hand Bill was holding and he felt his heart skip several beats before starting again, pounding twice as hard. He gently, reluctantly removed his hand from Bill's and cursing himself when it shook slightly. He clenched it into a fist so tight that he felt the sharp stab of his fingernails cutting into the flesh of his palm. He put both hands under the table so Bill wouldn't see. When he looked back up, Bill's eyes were on his face.

"I'm sorry, baby boy. I'm so very sorry," Bill whispered in an anguished tone.

"Bill, this wasn't your fault, I, she, they…" Harry floundered for words.

"It's okay," Bill said offering a comforting smile. "I'm not angry at you, right now, I'm not even angry, yes, that will come, but it will not be at you. This is not your fault. Right now, I'm sad for you. Sad that you had to suffer in a place you should have been safe."

Bill's eyes were filled with tears as he stood up and came around to Harry's side of the table. When he was next to the boy he wrapped an arm around his shoulders and kissed the top of his head.

"C'mon, Kiddo, let's go home. We've got a room to decorate."

Harry's head snapped up at that. The tone wasn't quite cheerful but it wasn't as sad as it was before. He looked at his brother closely, trying to read him. When he looked into the blue eyes instead of tears he saw warmth and love directed at him.

"We'll talk about it later, but now, like I said, we've got a room that's in need of decorating and some people who are anxious to meet you. So let's go. We've got work to do!" Bill said in a slightly forced cheerful tone.

Harry offered him a genuine smile as he allowed his big brother to pull him to his feet.

"Thanks Bill. Now let's go get to work, we've been lazy long enough," Harry said with a teasing grin before making his way to the till with Bill. When they got there Bill presented the bill and paid for it.

"Thank you for coming and I hope you have a most pleasant day," the waiter said with a smile at both of them.

"Shukran," Harry said before Bill could say anything.

The waiter look surprised, then touched while Bill just looked at him with pride. Bill thanked the man then guided his brother back out into the sunshine and heat.

When they were back in the Alley Bill wrapped his arm around Harry again and pulled him close.

"I am so very proud of you," he whispered into the boy's ear. "And I love you so much."

"I love you too Bill," Harry's voice was muffled because he buried his face in Bill's chest, trusting the older man to guide him.

They walked a few more feet to the Apparition point and got in line. The few wizards in front of them were done quickly then it was their turn.

"Okay Kiddo, just hold on to me and everything will be fine," Bill said as he wrapped his other arm around Harry as well.

Harry wrapped both arms around Bill's waist and grabbed his tunic just to be safe. He buried his face in Bill's chest again and closed his eyes. Harry opened his eyes to see the sitting room of their home when he felt Bill relax his grip on him and begin to stroke his hair. They stood like that for several minutes, Harry with his head on Bill's chest and Bill stroking his hair and slightly rocking them both unconsciously.

"C'mon, Kiddo, we got work to do!" Bill announced happily as he pulled away with a light slap to Harry's right hip before starting off down the hallway. "Let's go get your room done!"

"Right behind you!" Harry called as he hurried to catch up.

Author's Note: I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter! If ya have time, please let me know what you thought. Thank you for reading and until next time, I hope you are safe and happy.

~Lynn


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Hey y'all, sorry for the long wait. Life's been… Tough lately, but I'm gettin' through it and I'm so glad I have an update for ya. For those who read Flight as well I hope to get an update to my other beta by the end of the week so, hopefully in about 10 days or so I'll update that as well. Thank ya for your patience and a big thank ya to my beta Moonyxforever! I hope ya enjoy!

Chapter 7

A few hours later Harry and Bill stood in Harry's room looking around. The room was still done in light blue, cream and dark blue, but now Harry's guitar was hung on the wall as were several framed pictures he drew or painted. Bill had convinced Harry to allow him to frame them so he could hang them. They got his desk and chair set up as well as the book shelves. Bill then helped Harry unpack his trunk and put away his clothing. With a happy smile Harry collapsed onto his bed. Bill fell down next to him.

"How's it feel, Kiddo?" Bill asked.

"How does what feel?" Harry asked confused.

"How does it feel to be unpacked and settled into a place I hope you will be able to call home," Bill explained.

Harry didn't answer right away, thinking for a minute before he smiled and answered "It feels good. It feels real good."

Bill grinned and nudged the kid's knee with his own before he sighed, pushing himself to his feet. Harry looked up at him from his place sprawled on the bed.

"Okay, it's three thirty now. We are meeting the rest of the team at six thirty. They don't work tomorrow so we will probably be there late. If you are tired, grab a nap or just relax until we have to leave. We got kind of sweaty while we were working so feel free to take a shower or a bath if you would like. I'm going to be around so feel free to come find me if you want company. Oh, my bedroom, I have no problem with you going in there, however I do ask that if the door is closed, knock and wait to be invited in. It doesn't have to be an emergency. I'll do the same if I need you and you are in here and your door is closed. Do you understand?" Bill said looking at his charge.

"Yeah," Harry said quietly. "If your door is closed, knock and wait until you invite me in. It doesn't have to be an emergency. If I am in here with the door closed and you need me you will knock and wait for me to invite you in."

"Good boy," Bill murmured with a smile before leaving Harry's room. As he was walking out the door he asked "Open or closed?"

"Open please," Harry responded as he shifted, curling up on his side.

Bill nodded as he left, leaving the door open. Harry closed his eyes as he worked on relaxing his body. He was trying to ignore both the anxiety and the excitement coursing through him. Several minutes later Harry was drifting off into a light doze.

Harry woke up and glanced at the clock on the bedside table. It read five. Harry sat up and rubbed his hands over his face. He then pushed himself to his feet and made his way over to his dresser. He quickly found a pair of low rise stone wash jeans, a long sleeved tee shirt, boxers and socks. Gathering his clothing he made his way to the bathroom. Twenty minutes later he exited the bathroom after showering and changing.

Once he was back in his room he dumped his dirty clothing in his hamper before looking in the closet for this boots. When he found them he went to his desk chair to pull them on. Harry stood again and made his way out to the living room. Bill was sprawled on his back on the couch with his left arm thrown over his eyes. Music was playing softly in the background. Harry quietly made his way over to the armchair. He sat in it sideways, his legs thrown over one arm. Bill had already showered and changed, so Harry was going to let him sleep until they had to leave. Harry shut his eyes and listened to the unfamiliar music. He allowed his mind to drift while he forced himself to relax. Halfway through the fourth song he opened his eyes when he felt someone's gaze on the side of his face. He looked over at the older man and met blue eyes.

"Hello Bill," Harry greeted with a small smile.

"Hey Kiddo, have a good nap?" Bill asked sitting up.

"I could ask you the same thing," the boy commented blandly.

"I did sleep well, thank you," the read head commented lightly.

"I did too. I was tired," Harry admitted.

Bill stopped stretching and looked at the kid before asking lightly "Comfortable?"

Harry blushed and started to sit up but Bill called out to him.

"Harry, you don't have to move. I honestly want to know. I could never sit like that. I could never get comfortable," Bill explained, watching Harry closely.

"Oh," Harry said quietly. "Uh, yeah it's comfortable."

Bill smiled. "That's good."

They sat listening to the music in comfortable silence. The listened to another three songs before Bill stood up and asked "You ready to go?"

Harry sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "Uh, yeah, I'm ready. Where are we going?"

"We are going to Nicoli's. He's having us all over," Bill said with a fond smile.

"Nicoli…" Harry murmured, trying to remember what Bill had told him about the man.

"Harry, relax, okay? They are all excited to meet you. Just be yourself," Bill instructed quietly.

"Yeah, okay," Harry responded with a forced smile.

Bill reached out and ruffled his hair. "Everything will be fine. I promise."

Harry smiled more genuinely this time.

"You need to do anything before we leave?" Bill asked and when Harry shook his head Bill continued. "Okay, we'll do this like we did earlier. I'll go first, again. All you have to do is say Nicoli Lombardi's Flat, Cairo. When you see me, step out. You ready?"

"Yep," Harry answered.

Bill stepped into the green flames, took a last look at Harry, then said "Nicoli Lombardi's Flat, Cairo," before flashing away.

Harry waited a moment before he followed Bill. Seconds later he saw Bill and forced himself out of the floo. Strong arms caught him as he stumbled forward. He looked up into the laughing blue-green eyes of a stranger. He gently pulled himself away from the man, glancing around for Bill.

"It's okay Harry. That is Jesse O'Brien. He came out of the floo half a second before you did," Bill explained as he brushed soot off of Harry's clothing.

"Hey there Harry, ya can call me Jesse. It's a pleasure to meet ya. Bill has talked about ya quite a bit." Jesse said with a big smile.

Harry looked a Jesse for a moment before returning his smile and said quietly "It's nice to meet you too, Jesse. Bill has told me a little about you as well. I'm glad I'm getting the opportunity to meet the people Bill works with, his friends."

"Okay, kid, ya need to lighten up a little bit. None of us here are gonna kill ya. We're all excited to meet Bill's baby brother." Jesse said with a patient smile.

Harry smiled back tentatively before looking around for the first time. The room was homey and comfortable. It was done in light brown and golden shades of paint and fabric. On the one wall there was a large painted mural of an Italian vineyard. The leaves moved gently in a nonexistent breeze. Harry liked it. It was calming, peaceful and beautiful. As Harry was looking around another man wandered into the room from the back door. He was very tall, has shaggy brown hair and brown eyes with golden flecks in them.

"You must be Harry," he said in a deep, slightly growling voice. "I'm Benjamin Lath, but you can call me Ben."

Harry turned when he first started talking. He tilted his head back to look at his face. He was _tall_. Taller than Bill and Jesse. His mouth was set in a firm line but his eyes were friendly. Harry smiled hesitantly and responded quietly "Thank you, Ben. It's nice to meet you. Bill has told me about you before."

Ben smiled back at the boy then explained "The rest of the team is outside. Nicoli is cooking and Baylee is helping him." He turned to Bill and pulled him into a hug. "Bill, how are you?"

Bill laughed as he hugged the man back while saying "I'm good, Ben. How are you?"

"I'm good. Glad we have tomorrow off," Ben responded.

"Everything okay?" Bill asked.

Ben looked at Harry before saying lightly "Yeah, everything is fine."

Bill shot him a look but let it go for now. He turned to Harry and said "Let's go meet the others" before ushering him out the back door.

As they walked out the back door Harry was shocked by what he saw. He was expecting to see sand and not much else. However, the backyard was lush with green grass, plants and trees. There was a seating area a bit further from the flat. Up closer there was a grill, fireplace, table and chairs. Standing at the table was a man of average height, with shoulder length black hair. He was flipping something on the grill. A woman with long blond hair was standing over the fireplace, stirring a pot. She was short and lean, kind of on the boyish side.

"Baylee, Nicoli this is Harry!" Jesse called out from behind Harry and Bill.

Two heads turned their way, as smiles made their way over a pale face and a olive colored face.

"Harry, welcome! It's great to have you here. Make yourself at home." Nicoli said as he set the tongs down and come over to him. He offered the boy his hand to shake and Harry took it.

"It's nice to meet you Nicoli," Harry said softly.

"And you as well," Nicoli said in a warm soft tone.

Harry felt himself relax in the presence of this calm man. Harry felt Bill lean against his back to lightly slap Nicoli on the arm.

"How are you, mate?" Bill asked with a smile.

"I'm good, Bill, and you?" Nicoli returned with an easy smile.

"I'm good, we're good." Bill said as he rand a gentle hand over boy's hair in front of him.

Harry leaned back into that comforting touch of his older brother. He turned his head up to look at Bill, who lowered his own head to drop a quick kiss on the top of his head. Harry smiled shyly up at him. Bill responded with a smile of his own.

"There is a cooler with ice and drinks in it over by the table. Why don't you guys grab a drink and head out to the seating area. Baylee and I will call you when dinner is done." Nicoli said watching the tender scene with a smile.

"Are you sure you don't need our help?" Harry asked softly, uncertainly.

"No, thank you though. You and Bill go get yourselves a seat. Get to know the team," Nicoli said covering his surprise.

"Thank you, Nicoli. We will do just that," Bill said as he gently started to steer the boy toward the table.

They picked out drinks and cups before making their way toward the sitting area. Ben and Jesse were already there, talking about one of their sites. As they got closer they began to laugh.

"Hey," Bill greeted as he took a seat on a loveseat.

Harry stood there for a few seconds before sitting in a chair diagonally from Bill. He was closer to Jesse than he was to either Bill or Ben. He was a little stiff but he forced himself to relax. Jesse turned to him and asked "So Harry, what is your favorite subject?"

Harry started slightly, surprised at being spoken to, but he recovered quickly and answered "Defense. It's my favorite, also my best."

"That is my specialty," Jesse said with a warm smile.

"If you specialized in defense, how did you end up curse breaking?" Harry asked.

"Well, Gringotts hires defense masters to protect the dig sites and the curse breakers. Not that this lot would need me to protect them. I also have a mastery in ancient ruins so I can work as a curse breaker as well. Usually people don't have two masteries. Usually if you are hired for security you don't cures break as well, but I was the exception to the rule." Jesse explained with a small smile.

Harry was nodding, "It sounds like a good job."

"It is. I love it. It's fun, exciting, allows me to travel and meet new people." Jesse said with a grin.

"I didn't realize they hired defense majors," Harry said softly.

"Yeah, they do, but if you want to be more than a glorified security guard or gofer then you want a mastery in ancient ruins as well." Jesse explained. "Are you interested in cures breaking?"

"Um, I'm thinking about it. I'm not sure I want to be an auror, but I know I don't want to ride a desk so… I don't know what else there is for me out there," Harry explained, looking off into the distance.

"Guys! Dinner is done!" Nicoli called from the patio.

"Come on Harry, let's go get something to eat. Nicoli is a great cook and Baylee isn't bad either," Jesse said as he got to his feet.

Harry stood up and glanced at Bill who motioned for him to walk in front of him. Harry felt Bill's hand on his shoulder, his thumb rubbing soothingly over his collarbone. When they got to the table Harry took a seat on the side facing the flat and Bill sat down beside him. Nicoli was sitting across from Harry and Jesse was sitting across from Bill. Ben and Baylee were at the head and foot of the table respectively.

"Okay guys, we made some grilled chicken, grilled red, green and yellow peppers and some pasta salad. Does everyone have a drink?" Nicoli said as he started passing dishes around.

There was a collective confirmation from his guests and everyone got what they wanted. Harry took a small piece of chicken, a bit a green and yellow pepper and a small scoop of pasta salad. Bill looked over his plate with a careful eye and nodded. He leaned down to the boy slightly and said "Make sure you eat all of that."

Harry just nodded as he took a small bite of chicken. It was very good, seasoned lightly with salt, pepper and rosemary.

"So, Harry, what do you want to see while you are here?" Baylee asked cutting into her own meal.

"Uh, Bill is going to show me some of the museums, the open air market, some of the pyramids and the sphinx." Harry replied before taking another bite of chicken.

Baylee nodded as she said "Yeah, they are great places to visit. You'll have to get Bill to bring you out to the dig site too."

Bill looked up from his conversation with Nicoli.

"What?" Bill demanded.

"You'll have to bring Harry out to the dig site," Baylee repeated.

"No." Bill stated in a hard tone.

"Bill, he'll enjoy it," the blond protested.

"Baylee, I said no. Not this visit. I might bring him later in the summer." Bill said shooting Baylee a hard look.

"Harry, don't you want to see the site?" Baylee asked, ignoring the look Bill was giving her.

Harry looked up from his plate, he had been trying to tune the argument out but, when Baylee called his name he couldn't any longer.

"Uh, yeah, I guess, but only when Bill says it's okay for me to go. I trust that Bill knows what he is doing and why. He won't do something that would put me in danger, so if he doesn't want me there right now, I know there is a good reason for that. I'm sure he'll let me see the site you lot are working on at some point this summer. And if not, well then, he'll have a good reason." Harry said looking Baylee in the eyes.

"Baylee, let it go. This is not your decision. It is Bill's. Let it go." Ben said sternly from across the table from her.

"Fine!" She snapped before stabbing moodily at her food.

Harry was looking between the two with huge eyes. Bill reached out to him under the table and took his hand. He gave it a comforting squeeze. Harry turned to look at him. He felt himself relax slightly and return the squeeze. Harry turned his attention back to his plate.

"What do you like to do in your free time Harry?" Nicoli asked after another few seconds of uncomfortable silence.

"Uh, I love Quidditch. Some friends and I play cards and other games. I play guitar and write my own music. I like to draw. How about you? What do you lot like to do on your time off?" Harry said looking at Nicoli.

"I enjoy a good game of Quidditch as well. I like to read, I like Muggle classic literature. I also draw occasionally and I love to cook." Nicoli answered.

"I enjoy Quidditch as well. I love Muggle suspense and horror books. I enjoy jazz music. I work daily on my martial arts and dagger throwing," Jesse said with a big grin and wink at Harry.

"I am a Quidditch fan as well. I love to listen to American Muggle rock music. I enjoy restoring old classic cars. I don't do anything magical to them, just restore them," Ben spoke up next with a smile.

Everyone turned to Baylee, but she remained stubbornly silent. Harry glanced at Bill who had a dark look on his face. Bill's eyes never left Baylee's face. Harry stole a look at the men around the table. Nicoli had an annoyed look on his face, Ben was scowling at his little sister and Jesse was looking at Baylee in disgust.

"Baylee, you've got nothing to say?" Ben asked in a low voice.

"No, I do not," she said in a cold voice.

Harry sunk down a bit in his chair, the tension around the table starting to get to him. He put his hands back under the table when they started to shake. He dropped his gaze to his mostly empty plate. The silence around him was deafening. He could hear his own heart beating in his ears. He jumped slightly when he felt a hand on his knee. He looked up to see Bill smiling down at him. Harry offered a small smile back still tense and stiff in his seat. Suddenly Baylee pushed away from the table, snatched up her plate and stalked into Nicoli's flat.

"Harry, I am so sorry about my sister. She has no right to be acting like this. We are really glad you are here. If you'll excuse me, I need to have a few words with her," Ben explained before he stood up and followed his sister inside.

Harry looked up at Bill as shouting floated out to them from inside the flat. Bill sighed as he looked down at Harry.

"I'm sorry, Kiddo," he whispered. "This isn't the way I had wanted you to meet the team. I had hoped she wouldn't act like this. I should have warned you, but we had all warned her to be nice."

Harry looked up at Bill with wide, hurt and confused green eyes as he asked in a small voice "What did I do?"

"Nothing, Kiddo. This isn't about you. She, she can just be a jerk some times. She and Ben had a bit of a family emergency a few months ago. Ever since she has been… short with everyone, but she shouldn't have taken it out on you." Bill said in a firm tone. "I don't care how angry or upset anyone is that doesn't give them the right to take it out on you."

"We really are glad you are here, Harry." Jesse said earnestly.

"Yes, we are. Do not let her ruin this for you," Nicoli added kindly.

Harry offered the men a small smile before dropping his eyes to the table top again. Bill looked at him with sad blue eyes.

Suddenly the yelling inside reached a new volume, causing Nicoli to stand up and say "Why don't we move back to the sitting area? It's more comfortable back there."

"Great idea Nic!" Jesse said as he stood up too. "Bill, Harry, grab your drinks or some new ones if ya need 'em and let's go."

Bill laughed but picked his up and stood. "C'mon Kiddo. Let's go."

Harry followed the three older men back into the lush, colorful garden. This time when Bill sat down on the love seat Harry sat beside him. Bill dropped a casual arm around Harry's shoulders and Harry leaned into the touch slightly.

"I really am sorry your first night here had to be like this. We wanted it to be perfect, not like this." Nicoli said softly looking at the boy beside Bill.

"It's alright Nicoli. You can't control what other people do or how they act. This isn't your fault, Jesse's, Bill's or Ben's. The only person who has any responsibility in this is Baylee. She is an adult, how she acts or reacts to a situation is on her. But even so, I understand people have bad days, they have bad moods, that's life." Harry said with a shrug.

"We can tell you are not comfortable," the Irishman said.

"I'll get over it Jesse. I'll deal. Yeah, I'm not really comfortable, but like I said, I'll deal." Harry repeated.

The three men around him shared a smile with each other and him. Bill ruffled his mop of shaggy hair.

"I'm glad you are not turned off by what happened," Bill commented.

"Egypt is a great place and I've met several great people. Even if we had to leave tomorrow, I'd have no regrets about my time here. And I'm looking forward to spending more time here." Harry explained as he started to relax.

The four guys allowed silence to fill the air for a bit. There was a slight breeze blowing that fluttered the leaves around them.

"Well, I'm glad that you are enjoying your time here. It is a beautiful country, rich in culture and steeped in history. This is one of my favorite countries in the world." Nicoli said with a soft smile.

"You are from Italy, right?" Harry asked the olive skinned man.

"Yes, but it has been a long time since I have been home," Nic said softly.

"I'm sorry," Harry offered quietly.

"It's okay, I've been busy with work and my family understands. My parents own their own vineyard so they are quite busy too," Nic explained with a warm smile.

"That must have been a nice place to grow up," Harry stated.

"It was great. We worked the land by hand. No magic was used on the vineyards. I loved it there. I miss it, but I have a job that I love and friends that help to fill the void of family far away," Nicoli said fondly.

Jesse and Bill laughed warmly.

"What is so funny?" Harry asked.

"It's just amusing how much we all think alike. We each feel that way about each other. They have become our extended family," Jesse explained.

"Yep," Bill confirmed.

"That's great. I'm so happy that you lot managed to form a family with your coworkers. I think it's great that you lot are so close," the boy said with a happy smile.

The three older men exchanged fond looks before Jesse looked at Harry with a small smirk playing around his lips.

"Well, you are stealing Bill. I hear he is going to be going back to London every night and that you will be here on the weekends." Jesse affirmed.

"Yeah, I guess that means he won't be around as much," Harry supposed quietly.

Nic leaned over and smacked Jesse on the side of the head.

"Stop that! It is great that Bill has someone in his life to take care of. He has needed someone to take care of. I'm so glad you have each other." Nic said happily.

"Thank you Nicoli, that means a lot." Harry responded softly.

"As much as I enjoy giving him a hard time I'm glad he has you now too," Jesse stated. "This guy needs someone to take care of."

Harry smiled slightly at him, a bit worried they were actually upset because Bill won't be around as much. Suddenly the door to the flat slammed open causing Harry to jump and start trembling slightly. Ben came stalking toward them a dark look on his worn but handsome face. Ben looked up saw Harry trembling slightly and slowed his pace. He relaxed his muscles and wiped the dark look from his face. When he got closer he said softly "I didn't mean to frighten you Harry. I'm sorry."

Harry looked up at the older man and tried to smile.

"It's okay. I know you aren't mad at me," Harry said.

Bill pulled Harry a bit closer to him and Harry hesitated slightly before laying his head on Bill's shoulder. Bill smiled gently as Harry closed his eyes.

Ben, Jesse and Nic exchanged fond glances with each other as they watched Bill stroke Harry's hair. Harry kept his eyes closed but leaned into Bill's gentle touch. Harry listened as the four friends talked about work and their families. Harry allowed the gentle motion to sooth him into relaxing more against his big brother. A little while later Harry jerked upright, away from Bill and fell in a heap on the ground. He shook his head, looked around and tried to figure out where he was. He hadn't been asleep but close enough for his mind to conjure up images from the night in the DOM. When he finally focused he saw Bill crouched in front of him concern written on his face. He looked around and saw Jesse, Ben and Nic behind Bill. As he relaxed he started to feel the pain in his back from where he hit the ground. He tried to ignore the pain as he sat up. Bill reached out to help him but Harry flinched and he backed off.

"Harry? Harry, it's okay. Everything's okay," Bill called softly to the confused, upset kid in front of him.

Harry looked at Bill's face, trying to read his lips because he couldn't hear his voice over the ringing in his ears. Suddenly disgust filled him causing Harry to push himself to his feet. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly while forcing his thoughts of that night into the back of his mind and down into a box. He slammed the lid shut on that and all the feelings he didn't want to deal with.

"I'm sorry. I'm fine," Harry said stiffly.

"Harry-" Bill started

Harry cut him off by saying coldly "No, Bill, I'm fine. I'm okay. This is life. Shit happens then you get over it. That's the way life works!" Harry took another deep breath then said in a calmer tone "Nicoli, Jesse, Ben I'm very sorry you had to see that. My apologies."

The three older men exchanged looks before Jesse said calmly "It's okay. There is nothing to apologize for."

Harry took another deep breath and let it out through clenched teeth. He tried to relax his shoulders and pain flared through his lower back. He glanced at the ground and he saw the decorative stone he landed on. He started when Bill's fingers closed over his chin. The older man gently turned his face to him.

"Did you hurt yourself when you fell?" Bill asked concerned.

Harry paused as he though. His back hurt but it wasn't bad so he decided not to mention it. "No, I'm fine."

Bill closely looked at the boy before saying quietly with a hint of warning coloring his tone "I don't appreciate being lied to Harry. Now, how about you tell me the truth."

Harry looked at his older brother before looking away. He shook his head and softly insisted "I'm fine."

Bill watched Harry closely before saying in a firm voice "We will talk when we get home."

Harry looked away from Bill at the ground clenching his jaw. The other men were looking between the brothers.

"Harry, why don't you take a walk with me?" Nic said lightly, motioning behind them.

Harry hesitated a bit then nodded. Nic smiled at him softly before heading further into the yard with Harry beside him. They walked in silence for a while before Nic started talking.

"You know Bill just wants to help you right? There is nothing you can say or do that will make him love you less. I've known Bill for a while now and I can tell you this as well, he doesn't like being lied to." Nic said looking at Harry pointedly.

Harry glanced away guiltily. He opened his mouth then closed it again with a shake of his head.

"All I can tell you is to be honest with him. He wants to help you and he can't do that if you won't let him." Nic said gently.

Harry let out a long breath as he ran a hand through his shaggy black hair. His voice was soft when he spoke.

"I know he wants to help, I do, but I don't know how to let him. I've always been alone. I've always dealt with everything on my own. Now someone wants to help, wants to be in control… Not to hurt me but to help me, I know. I I don't know how to let someone help like this."

"He knows this, we know this. It's going to be hard and yes at times it's going to hurt, healing always is and does but it's worth it in the end. Just talk to him, he will understand. He knows you are lying to him right now, but if you talk to him it will be forgiven," Nic implored softly.

Harry looked at the older man in surprise.

"We all know you are lying about being hurt. We also know that whatever you dreamed about has upset you. However, we also realize you don't know us and probably don't feel comfortable talking about it in front of us. Just talk to Bill. Let him help you," Nicoli implored.

Harry just looked at the Italian. He looked away and mumbled "I'll try" before they went back to walking in silence. After another ten minutes of aimless wandering Nicoli asked "Are you ready to head back?"

"Yeah, yeah I am. I need to talk to Bill," the boy responded.

"Okay, let's head back. Oh, and Harry? I'm glad to hear that," Nic said in a soft warm voice.

Harry just smiled. It only took them about ten minutes to make it back to the seating area. Harry heard Bill talking with the others. The tone was serious but not somber. Harry felt guilty for bringing down the mood of the evening.

"Hey," he said quietly.

Bill looked up and smiled at him as he asked "Did you have a good walk?"

"Yeah, I did. Thank you. It's nice out here…" he said.

The other men exchanged glances again. Bill let out a breath and said "Nic, it's been a lovely evening but I think it's time for Harry and I to call it a night." Bill turned to look at Harry and his tone became stern. "We have some things to talk about, don't we?"

Harry looked at the ground but nodded. Bill stood up and placed a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder. He squeezed it then dropped his hand to rub between the boy's shoulder blades.

"C'mon Kiddo, time to go home," he said as he lead him into the flat with the others following them in.

Harry turned to look at the rest of Bill's team and offered them a slight smile.

"Nicoli thank you for the invitation, it was nice to meet you. Ben, Jesse, it was nice to meet both of you as well. I hope I see you again," Harry said quietly with brief glances at each.

Bill offered a smile before he guided Harry into the fire and they left.

Harry came out of the floo first. He moved over into the center of the room to wait for Bill. His pulse was pounding and his hands were shaking. He kept repeating what Nicoli had told him in his head. He looked up when Bill stepped out of the floo. Bill's face was set in a stern look but it softened when he saw Harry.

"Okay little brother, let's sit down and talk," Bill said as he moved to the couch, sat down and motioned Harry to sit down beside him.

Harry moved slowly over to Bill and sat down beside him. He sat on the very edge of the sofa and almost a whole arm length away from Bill. Bill reached over and wrapped an arm around him. He pulled him back onto the sofa and into his side. Bill leaned over and pressed a kiss onto the side of the boy's head.

"If we are going to make this work you have to be honest with me, Har," Bill whispered into the messy black hair. "You've got to trust me Kiddo. Please, let me in."

Harry took a deep breath and let it out shakily. He closed his eyes and burrowed into Bill's side. He just sat there, leaning against his big brother and soaking in his comfort. Bill just wrapped his arms more firmly around Harry. He gently stroked his hair and kissed the top of his head several times. Almost a quarter of an hour later Harry finally spoke in a hoarse whisper "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know if you are hurt," Bill answered.

"Yes, I was. I managed to land on a stone," Harry admitted.

"Will you let me take a look?" Bill asked as he continued to stroke his hair.

Harry hesitated for a moment then he nodded.

Bill gently pushed him away and turned him slightly so he could see his back.

"Ready?" He asked the boy kindly.

Harry just nodded again as he trembled slightly. Bill ran his hand over Harry's head again.

"It's going to be okay, no matter what, it's going to be okay," Bill reassured.

"Okay," Harry responded simply.

Bill gently pulled up Harry's tee shirt exposing his lower and middle back. Staining his lower back was a darkening bruise. It disappeared below the waistband of his pants. It extended up to the middle of his back. It looked painful.

"How far down does it go?" Bill asked keeping his voice carefully light.

"About an inch below the waist of my pants, I think. It doesn't hurt below that point," Harry said.

"May I look?" Bill asked quietly.

"Uh, I guess…" Harry said slowly.

Bill gently pulled the waistband of his pants back and found that Harry was right there was only about another inch of discoloration.

"Will you let me put bruise cream on it?" Bill asked.

"Uh, yeah, I guess…" Harry said hesitantly.

Bill calmly summoned a jar of bruise cream from his room. He easily caught it midair and stood gracefully after extracting Harry from his side.

"Okay, Kiddo, I want you to lay down on your stomach," Bill directed.

Harry hesitated again but then he laid down on his side then turned onto his stomach. He watched as Bill scooped some of the green cream onto his hand then rubbed them together. Bill must have caught his confused expression because he explained it was to heat the cream up before he put it on his back. He looked down at Harry then knelt beside the couch.

"Okay, Kiddo," he started in a soft and sure tone. "This is going to hurt a bit but the cream will numb the pain after about a minute or so. It won't be too bad, though."

Harry just nodded at him again. Bill bent down and kissed the crown of his head then gently started rubbing the cream into Harry's lower back. Harry hissed in pain when Bill pushed on a really sensitive spot.

"Shh," Bill whispered. "It's going to be okay. I promise it'll stop hurting soon. I promise."

Harry didn't acknowledge the statement but he started to relax a minute later when the pain started to fade away. He let out a contented sigh. He was surprised when Bill kept rubbing his back but he kept creeping higher up his back. He felt his eyes getting heavy and that was when he realized that Bill was trying to put him to sleep. He tried to move but Bill easily held him in place.

"Shh baby brother. Just go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning. I love you. Everything is okay, just close those eyes and go to sleep." Was the last thing Harry heard his big brother whisper before he fell asleep.

Author's Note: I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter and that it was worth the wait. Thank ya for readin'! If ya have time let me know what ya think. Until next time be happy, healthy and safe!

Lynn


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Author's Notes: Hey y'all I know it's been a while. Sorry 'bout that. Life has been kind of crazy lately. A big thank ya goes to MoonyxForever for beating this for me. All mistakes remainin' are my own. Thank ya all for your patience. I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters or places accoated with that. Y'all know who does. I do own the original characters and the plotline. Yes, I have finally given this story a plotline. I hope ya enjoy!

From Chapter 7:

Harry didn't acknowledge the statement but he started to relax a minute later when the pain started to fade away. He let out a contented sigh. He was surprised when Bill kept rubbing his back but he kept creeping higher up his back. He felt his eyes getting heavy and that was when he realized that Bill was trying to put him to sleep. He tried to move but Bill easily held him in place.

"Shh baby brother. Just go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning. I love you. Everything is okay, just close those eyes and go to sleep." Was the last thing Harry heard his big brother whisper before he fell asleep.

Chapter 8:

Harry woke slowly the next morning. He opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. He was in his bedroom in Bill's flat. He was a bit confused because he remembered falling asleep on the couch in the living room. Slowly Harry worked out that Bill must have picked him up and put him to bed and then he noticed that he was clad in a pair of pajamas. He blushed slightly at the thought of Bill changing his clothes like a child. Within a few minutes Harry had shoved off the embarrassment, got up, gathered clothes for the day and made his way to the bathroom for his morning absolutions, which included a shower. When Harry was done he went back to his bedroom to put his clothes in the hamper, then padded out into the living area barefoot. When he got out there he smelled eggs and bacon cooking. He made his way into the kitchen to see Charlie cooking at the stove.

"Charlie!" Harry exclaimed happily before remembering the last time he saw the older man he was very angry with him.

Charlie turned to look at the boy. His smile faded when he noticed the expression on Harry's face.

"Harry, what's wrong?" He asked in concern.

Harry looked up at the redhead then lowered his head as he responded with a quite "Are you still angry with me?"

"Why would I be angry with you?" Charlie asked shocked.

"You were yesterday," he said softly.

Charlie put down the spatula he was using to stir the eggs and walked over to his little brother. He put one finger under the boys' chin and tilted his head up to meet his eyes.

"Harry, I was never angry with you. Surely Bill told you that. I asked him to tell you that," Charlie answered in a soft but firm tone.

"He did, but, I…" Harry trailed off with a shake of his head.

"He wouldn't lie to you, ever, about anything. I promise. And as for me being angry at you, I wasn't yesterday. I was concerned about you. I was worried but I wasn't angry. If I'm ever angry with you I'll tell you. You were so upset and there was no reason for you to be upset like that. It broke my heart to see you like that," Charlie said softly as he stroked the messy head in front of him. "I know I frightened you and I'm so sorry for that."

"That wasn't you fault. I overreacted. You couldn't control that. I should have calmed down when you told me to," Harry whispered in shame.

"Hey, it's over. Don't beat yourself up about it. As far as I'm concerned it's over," Charlie said quietly.

"Thank you," Harry said as he quickly hugged the older man.

Charlie laughed lightly, ruffled his hair and gently pushed Harry back by his shoulders to look at him. After a moment he asked "Would you like to help me make some breakfast?"

Harry nodded as he answered with a happy "Yeah, I'd enjoy that."

"Okay then, come on," the redhead said as he made his way back to the stove. "Do you want to watch the bacon or cut up some more fruit?"

"I'll cut up the fruit. I think it would be easier to let you take care of the eggs and bacon," Harry explained.

"Okay, that's fine. There are peaches on the counter as well as some plums. Cut up two of each please." Charlie directed.

"Why two of each?" Harry asked.

"George told me that you love peaches," Charlie said with at smile at the boy. "He said whenever they were served at Hogwarts you would eat at least two."

Harry blushed a bit at that and looked back down at the counter. He started gathering what he would need to cut up the fruit. As he was getting a bowl out to put the cut fruit in he started to talk quietly.

"The Dursley's would never allow me to have fruit," he said sadly. "Or vegetables when I was growing up. It was George who insisted that I give them a try. I love it. There are few vegetables that I don't like and so far I've liked every fruit I've tried," Harry smiled sheepishly at Charlie.

Charlie looked at his littlest brother in sadness that the simplest things had been denied to him. Most parents and guardians insisted that their children eat fruits and vegetables, but of course, not the Dursley's. Anything that could make Harry even remotely happy was expressly forbidden. He shook his head and said sadly "I really hate those people and that hatred just got deeper."

Harry looked up, startled, at his older brother. He opened his mouth to tell him that this wasn't that bad but he thought better of it and closed his mouth. He tried to think of something else to say but he came up with nothing.

"Harry," Charlie called softly.

Harry looked up from staring at the floor. Slowly he met his older brother's eyes. The redhead smiled at him gently as he said "I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at them. Nothing that they did to you was your fault. You did not deserve anything that they did to you. I am so sorry for what they did. You should have grown up loved and cared for, not neglected and hurt," Charlie said sadly as he reached out and gently stroked Harry's cheek. Harry smiled at him in return before he turned back to the peaches and plums. He made quick work of cutting them up and putting them in the bowl. He mixed them together gently. He cleaned up his mess then turned and placed the bowl of fruit on the table.

"Ormand, while I finish up breakfast why don't you go wake up Bill?" Charlie suggested.

"Okay," Harry responded easily.

"Go in and jump on his bed beside him," Charlie instructed with a grin. "That's how we would always wake each other up."

Harry smiled as he turned and left the kitchen. He headed down the hallway and into Bill's bedroom. He paused outside of the closed door. Bill had asked him to knock before entering his room if the door was closed but Charlie had told him to wake Bill up. Harry bit his lip as he stood in front of the door trying to figure out what to do. Slowly, he reached out and opened the door. He crept into the room quietly. Within a handful of strides he was standing at the side of Bill's bed. For the first time he looked around him. The room was done in cream and shades of green. Bill was sleeping under an emerald green duvet. The pillows were shades of green and cream. Harry shifted from one foot to the other and back again before taking a deep but quiet breath, then he launched himself onto the big bed beside Bill. Bill shot up and looked around wildly, reaching for his wand.

"Bill it's me! It's Harry!" the boy called out as he scrambled away from Bill.

"Harry?" Bill asked confused.

Harry nodded almost franticly as he practically gasped out "Yes, it's me! It's me!"

"What are you doing in here? Are you okay? What do you need?" Bill asked this all very fast as he reached for Harry to start checking him over. Harry squirmed guiltily as Bill's worried eyes raked over him. "Harry, are you okay? Answer me!"

"Yes, I'm okay, Bill, I'm okay," Harry answered quickly and earnestly.

Bill reached out and gently cupped his face, stroking his cheekbones with his thumbs as he gently asked "What's going on? Baby boy talk to me."

"Nothing is going on Bill. Charlie asked me to wake you up. I know you said to knock before entering but Charlie said I should come in and jump on your bed. He said that was how they always used to wake you up when you all were kids. I know you asked me to knock before entering and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I disobeyed you," Harry said this all really fast while looking at Bill with beseeching eyes.

Bill just looked at the black haired boy sitting on his bed in front of him. Blue eyes searched green for a while causing Harry to start squirming. Bill suddenly started to smile softly at the boy.

"I think I can forgive you barging in this once," he said softly with a teasing smile.

Harry let out a relieved breath and smiled back before confessing softly "I thought you were gonna be really mad at me."

Bill leaned forward and kissed Harry's forehead before saying quietly "While I would like you to knock before entering my room I would never get angry at you for coming in to jump on my bed to wake me up."

Harry let out a quiet sigh of relief that caused Bill to look at him closely.

"Harry, even if I was angry at you I wouldn't do more than scold you, you know that, right? I wouldn't even yell at you. I can promise you I will never yell at you. It's degrading and I do believe that all it would do is frighten you. I will never intentionally frighten you," Bill said softly.

"I know, I do, I just… Everything is so hard right now. I know, life isn't supposed to be easy but… Bill, how much am I expected to take and still keep smiling? Cause I can tell you right now these last few years have been hard. They have been filled with fear and uncertainty and I don't know how much more I can take!" Harry exclaimed as he turned away from Bill. He scooted off the bed and paced beside it as he ran his hands through his hair agitatedly. He stopped pacing suddenly, rubbed his face with both hands before whispering "I'm sorry Bill," from behind his palms.

Bill got out of bed and made his way to the boy before him. He gently took Harry's shoulders in his hands and rubbed them gently.

"Are you ready to look at me?" He asked a few moments later.

"No," he mumbled from behind his hands.

Bill pulled him into his arms and held him. Harry didn't lower his hands from his face but he did settle into Bill's shoulder. The older man started to rock from side to side slightly as he murmured "Okay. That's okay. You can hide as long as you need to and when you are ready we'll talk about this."

Harry slowly lowered his hands only to burrow into Bill's shoulder. His big brother just ran a hand through the messy black mop on his littlest brother's head. They stood like that for so long that Charlie came in looking for them. He walked into the room as he said "Hey, what is taking you both so long?" He paused when he saw Bill holding Harry. He sighed and said sadly "Oh, little brother" as he walked over to them and wrapped his own arms around Harry and Bill. The three men stood there for a while longer, the older ones trying to offer what comfort they could to their baby brother. Eventually Harry started to move a little bit in a clear indication that he wanted to move. Bill and Charlie reluctantly pulled away. Harry moved back from both his big brothers and ran a hand through his hair. He wouldn't meet either set of blue eyes. He shuffled his feet and shifted side to side.

"Why don't we go eat breakfast and while we are eating we can talk. How does that sound to you two?" Charlie commented into the awkward silence.

Harry just shuffled some more and Bill responded by guiding Harry out of the room with hand on his shoulder. When they got into the hall he said "You two go out and I'll join you as soon as I'm done in the bathroom." He gave Harry a gentle swat on his hip to get him moving in the direction of the kitchen. Harry looked back at Bill, who nodded at him with a smile, to Charlie, who offered a smile as well. He headed out into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. Charlie sat across from him leaving the chair beside him open for Bill to take.

Bill came into the room a few minutes later. He was still in his sleep pants and a tank top. Harry looked up at him with wide green eyes as he slid into the chair beside him.

"Why aren't you eating? It looks really good," Bill commented as he reached for the bowl of scrambled eggs and scooped some onto Harry's plate before putting some on his own. He also placed several pieces of bacon on his plate and Harry's. The boy watched this with wide eyes before he whispered "You aren't angry at me?"

Bill put down his fork with a soft clink beside his plate. He looked at Harry with kind eyes. "Why would I be angry at you?" He asked quietly. "What possible reason do you think I would have to be angry at you? I'm trying to understand your reasoning so I can help you accept that I'm not going to be constantly angry at you. Mistakes happen Harry," he said as he stroked Harry's cheek, "but this was not a mistake! Harry you are entitled to your feelings. You are overwhelmed and that is okay. A lot is going on in your life right now. It is natural that you are upset and overwhelmed. It's a lot to take in; a lot to deal with. We've talked about this before, remember."

"Yeah, I remember," he said softly. "But it's hard Bill. I'm not used to showing my feelings so openly and it's kind of… I don't know. It's odd and I'm not sure if I like it."

"That's okay Harry. It will be odd. Of course it will be. You've never had someone to share your emotions with before. In fact I believe you would get into trouble before if you did show emotions. They would be used against you. It will not be like that here. It will not. Your emotions aren't a bad thing. They are part of you and I would like you to share them with me, with us. If you are afraid, hurt sad, angry, happy or any other emotion you are feeling I'd love to know about it. If you are upset, afraid or hurt I really want to know about it. If you don't tell me you are feeling that way I can't help you. Do you understand?" Bill said gently.

"Yeah, I do and I am trying, I really am," Harry said earnestly.

"We know you are Ormand," Charlie interjected soothingly.

Harry offered the two men a tentative smile and started to eat his breakfast slowly, indicating that he didn't want to talk about this anymore. The rest of breakfast passed as the three chatted lightly about what they were going to do that day. When they were all finished Bill told his younger brothers that he would do the dishes since they cooked. Harry and Charlie exchanged looks before they stood and left Bill to the dishes. They settled onto the couch beside each other.

"So you are going to spend some more time with your friends today?" Harry asked.

"Yup, we are meeting in front of the Statue of Neptune in Piazza Della Signoria in Florence at nine. It's odd for more than one of us to have off at a time, but we only have five dragons right now so they gave three of the others time off. As you know I'm on leave for at least three months. Anyway, so we decided to do some sightseeing. I've never been to Italy so I'm quite looking forward to it. Bill said he was going to take you out to do some sightseeing as well." Charlie answered.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it," Harry said with a small smile.

Harry caught a look at the clock on the far wall and then turned to Charlie again.

"It's almost nine now. If you don't leave you will be late," the boy pointed out to the dragon tamer.

Charlie looked up startled, before standing up hurriedly. He took a deep breath to calm himself before saying "Thank you Harry! I completely lost track of time. I hope you and Bill have a great time today and I will see you tonight when I come back, okay. Have a great day!" He leaned forward to hug his baby brother, kissed his forehead, then made his way to the floo.

"Have fun Charlie. See you tonight," Harry answered before his big brother disappeared into the green flames.

Harry settled back into the couch behind him with a slight laugh. He laid his head back and looked at the ceiling as his mind wandered. He looked up a short time later when he heard Bill enter the room. Harry looked up to see Bill looking around.

"Where's Charlie?" He asked in a confused tone.

"He had to go. He was meeting people in Florence," Harry explained.

"Oh, yeah. I hadn't realized that it was that late. Charlie must have let us sleep in this morning," Bill commented as he came over and plopped down beside his little brother. "So, what would you like to see today?"

"I don't know. What are our options?" Harry replied.

"What do you think about going to see the Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza?" Bill asked.

Harry was about to respond that that sounded like fun when the fireplace flared with green flames. Ben stepped out into the living area.

"Sorry to just floo in Bill, but I didn't have time to fire call first. There is a problem out at Kom Ombo and we are needed out there. I know you have off but, Bill, we could really use your help," Ben said urgency coloring his tone. His eyes darted between the two as he waited for an answer.

Bill turned to look at Harry with an apologetic look in his eyes. He reached out to brush some of Harry's hair out of his eyes as he said softly "I'm sorry Little Bit but I've got to go," he paused for a few seconds looking genuinely upset before continuing. "You get your two hours of studying done for the day and I'll be back by noon. When I get back we will go out for some lunch then on to Giza. I'm so sorry, but I have to help."

Harry looked a bit disappointed for a second before he hid it. He smiled at the two curse breakers then turned to the redhead. He looked at him closely before he said "Go, your job is important and it sounds like there is some sort of emergency going on. Like you said, I'll get some work done and then we can spend the afternoon together."

Bill looked at him closely before saying softly "I am sorry and if this wasn't an emergency I wouldn't be going. Do some of your homework and I'll either come and get you or I'll have one of the team pick you up, okay?"

Harry looked at Bill oddly at that last statement and Bill hurried to explain.

"No, Kiddo, it'll just be us this afternoon but if I'm involved in something that I can't stop until I'm finished I'll send someone to pick you up and take you to Giza to meet me. It's just going to be you and me this afternoon. I promise," Bill clarified for the confused boy.

Harry nodded and smile as he said "Yeah, go Bill. I understand. Besides one of the rules is that I have to study for two hours every day; I should get it out of the way before we go out for the day. Get it over with."

Bill leaned over and hugged the boy tightly. He pulled back slightly to kiss the messy onyx hair before he buried his face in the shaggy mess and whispered "I love you so much baby boy. There is nothing I would rather do then spend all day with you. I will be looking forward to seeing you in a few hours." He pulled back with one more kiss and said in a normal volume "Get your homework done. I want one assignment done today, got it? You know where the music player is; feel free to play music while you work. If you get hungry or thirsty you get something, you understand me?"

Harry nodded as he looked at Bill with his bright green eyes. Bill looked at him as he stood up. He turned to Ben and said "I'll be ready in a minute," before he turned to look at Harry again. "Do not go outside by yourself. You don't know your way around and I don't want you to get lost. You study for two hours; the other hour is yours to do with what you want. Remember the rules and I'll see you soon."

Harry stood as well and said "Okay, I've got it. I'll be fine. It's only two hours. I'll be fine. Go do what you have to do. And I love you too."

Bill tossed him a smile as he motioned Ben to the fireplace. Ben nodded at Harry and offered him an "I'm sorry for taking Bill away. I'll see you soon. Stay out of trouble or I'll never hear the end of it from Bill," which caused Harry to laugh and respond with "I'll do my best. Have a good day you two!" A few seconds after Harry's response they were both gone in two flashes of green flame.

Harry made his way to his room to get his homework from his trunk. He decided to start with defense, so he gathered what he thought he would need before making his way back to the kitchen to work from the table. He unrolled the parchment where he wrote the assignment and looked at it. **List ten Charms that could be used in a battle situation and discuss how you would use them. Your essay should be no less than two and a half feet and not exceed more than five feet.** This assignment was assigned by Dumbledore himself and would be handed in on the first class of the new term. Students only had to do the assignments for the classes they were choosing to take in their sixth year. Harry listed several charms right off the top of his head that would be useful in a duel. He decided to use some of the more obscure charms he knew so he started his list with the Confundus Charm, the Epoximise Charm, the Cheering Charm, the Colloportus Charm, the Engorgement Charm, the Freezing Charm and the Glacius Charm. Next Harry decided to use two of the more common charms for dueling so he listed the Banishing Charm and the Severing Charm. With that decided Harry started listing ways each could be used in multiple situations. He wanted to give at least two situations for each charm to show that he had given this some thought and to show that he would use these charms, among others in a real duel. For the charm he had already used in duels he uses those times as situations, hoping to give his paper some validity.

Harry finally looked up from his parchment almost three hours later when the fire flared to life. Harry was shocked when Baylee stumbled out of the floo.

"Uh, Baylee, what are you doing here?" Harry asked unsure of the woman standing in Bill's living area.

"Harry, I'm sorry for last night. I was out of line. I hope you can forgive me. As for what I'm doing here, I will be escorting you to Giza to meet Bill," Baylee said stiffly with a cool look on her face.

Harry looked at her unsure of her. His instincts were screaming at him but he ignored them. She was a friend of Bill's. He had nothing to be afraid of. With those thoughts running through his mind he collected his papers and put them in a neat pile on the side of the table. When he finished he went to join her before the floo, where she was standing, tapping her foot impatiently.

"We are taking a portkey," she said curtly as she held out a length of rope. "Grab hold and do not let go. If you are going to be sick when we land, please don't sick up on me."

Harry reached out and grabbed the rope. Five seconds later he was portkeyed away all the while his instincts were screaming at him not to go with her, that something was very wrong with this situation.

Author's Note: I hope y'all have enjoyed the chapter. I hope to get another out to ya real soon. If ya have time let me know what ya think. If not, until next time. Be happy, healthy and safe,

Lynn


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: Hey y'all. I'm sorry it's been so long. I have a list of excuses I could give ya but I'm not goin' to. Suffice it to say that real life and family problems got in the way of my writing. I'm sorry it's been so long and that this chapter isn't up to my usual standards. I'll have a new chapter for you in about two weeks. I pretty much have it written just have to edit it and send it to Moony. Speaking of Moony, thank you for betaing for me and for your patience as you wait for the next chapter. I hope y'all enjoy!

Chapter 9

Harry fell to his knees beside Baylee, who just looked down at Harry with something close to distain in her dark blue eyes.

"Are you going to get up anytime soon?" She asked coolly.

Harry hurried to stand up. Once he was on his feet he shoved his shaking hands into his pockets. He didn't want Baylee to see how shaken the portkey made him. After a few moments of silence Harry started looking around for Bill. When he didn't see him Harry said softly "Baylee, where's Bill?"

"He'll be here shortly," the blonde snapped.

Harry glanced around him but there was nothing but sand for what looked like miles around. He took a deep breath as quietly as he could then tentatively asked "Are you sure this is where he wanted to meet us?"

"Yes!" Baylee said harshly. "Great Merlin you are annoying. I can't understand why Bill wanted you in his life. Are you incapable of standing there while keeping your mouth shut?"

Harry lowered his head to look at the golden sand beneath his feet.

"I asked you a question boy!" She snapped.

"No Ma'am, I'm not," he whispered.

Harry could feel Baylee glaring at him, but he refused to look up. He shifted slightly as she kept glaring at him. Harry's head snapped up when he heard a soft pop in front of him. Harry smiled when he saw Bill standing only feet in front of him. Bill smiled back at the boy before turning to Baylee.

"Thank you so much for bringing him here. I hope he didn't give you any problems," Bill said.

"No, not really," Baylee said as she smiled at Bill.

"Not really? What does that mean?" Bill demanded politely.

"Nothing Bill, he just took a while to get ready to leave," the woman explained.

Harry looked up at her with a confused look on her face as Bill turned to level a stern gaze his way.

"Harry?" Bill asked firmly.

"I put my work away as soon as I knew she came to get me. I guess I took too long. I'm sorry for the inconvenience," the boy whispered.

Baylee nodded curtly then apperated away.

"Harry, when someone comes to get you for me I want you to listen to them and do as you're told," Bill said sternly.

Harry nodded looking at the ground. He didn't understand. He didn't think he had taken that long. As soon as he knew he was to go with Baylee he got ready to leave. He made her wait less than five minutes. And the way she was acting toward him, he just didn't understand. Harry flinched as Bill's hand came into his line of sight. The older man ignored the flinch and took the boy's chin in his hand, gently forcing his head up.

"Do you understand?" Bill questioned in a soft voice, his tone still stern.

"Yes si – Bill," the boy responded quietly.

Bill smiled at him warmly as he said happily "Good boy."

Harry smiled back at him tentatively. Bill's eyes shadowed slightly as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the dark, messy head before him.

"I'm not angry," he whispered into his boy's ear. "I promise I'm not."

Harry just nodded against his collarbone. Bill fought down a sigh as he pulled Harry closer to him and rubbed his back.

"You're okay, Kiddo. You're okay," Bill whispered into the onyx hair.

After a few minutes Harry pulled away before murmuring a soft "I really am sorry Bill. I didn't mean to make her wait."

"Hey," Bill said quietly as he put his hand under the boy's chin and gently forced his head up to meet his eyes. "I'm not angry with you, I'm really not. It was more of a reminder that you should treat all adults with the respect you would me, not that you really need the reminder. I'm sure you didn't keep Baylee waiting longer than you had to. Putting your work away before you leave is a good habit to have. Baylee…" Bill sighed softly. "I really didn't want to send her to get you but she was the only one who was able to leave. I'm sorry Har."

Harry looked up at his big brother and asked quietly "What did I do to make her not like me?"

"Oh baby," Bill whispered as he pulled Harry back against his chest. "It's not you. You didn't do anything. This is her problem and she is taking it out on you. I'll talk to her, tell her to back off. You handled it well, like you should have. You were polite and respectful and I am very proud of you."

Harry pulled back to smile at the redhead before burying his face back into Bill's chest. Bill chuckled warmly as he briskly rubbed Harry's back again before letting out a soft growl and picking Harry up off his feet and swinging him around. Harry laughed delightedly. Almost a minute later Bill set Harry down on his feet and stepped back from him.

"So, are you ready to do some sight seeing?" Bill asked.

Harry grinned as he said excitedly "Yeah!"

Several hours later Harry and Bill were sitting at a restaurant having a snack.

"What was your favorite part of the day?" Bill asked between bites of his eggplant with vinegar and garlic pita bread sandwich.

"I don't know. I enjoyed both the Sphinx and pyramids," Harry responded as he picked at his snack.

"You don't like it?" Bill asked after watching Harry for a minute.

Harry looked up suddenly as he said "No, it's good. I'm just not very hungry."

Bill looked him over with concern in his blue eyes as he asked "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, just tired," the boy responded quietly.

For the first time Bill took a close look at Harry. The boy had slight, bruise-like half circles under his emerald eyes.

"Did you get enough sleep last night? Did you have nightmares?" Bill asked worriedly.

Harry looked down at his plate and back up before confessing quietly "I had a rough night."

"I'm here if you want to talk about it," Bill replied softly. "I'm not going to force you to tell me, however it might make you feel better."

"I know," Harry said. "And I will but I'm still trying to process it… Plus, I just wanted to forget for a little bit."

"That's okay Harry," Bill answered quietly.

Harry nodded and went back to his snack. They chatted quietly as they finished their snacks. Twenty minutes later Bill paid and they left.

"Where would you like to go now?" Bill asked.

"I'm tired… Can we just go home – back to your place?" Harry stuttered.

"It's home Harry and yeah, we can go home," Bill responded calmly.

Bill guided them to an apparation point and apparated them home. Harry stepped away from Bill once they were in the living area.

"I'm almost finished with my Defense paper, I'm going to finish it," Harry said quietly.

"Okay, go ahead. I'm going to read for a while. If you need me just yell," Bill answered.

Harry nodded and went to the table. He pulled over his books and papers and found where he left off. He picked up his pen and flipped through his book until he found his place. He reread the paragraph he needed then began writing. Harry spent another hour on his assignment before he got up and went out to Bill. His big brother looked up from his book and asked "What do you need Har?"

"Would you read this for me? I'm not sure how it is," Harry replied.

"Sure, Kiddo. Lets see it," Bill said cheerfully.

Harry handed him his paper. Bill took it, sat up and patted the seat next to him.

"Have a seat while I read this," Bill invited.

Harry plopped down beside Bill and curled up as his older brother started to read. Bill read through it slowly, within a few lines he had conjured a pen and was making corrections. It took him almost half an hour to finish. As he was reading Harry was absently looking out the window, watching as the sun slowly started to set.

Harry looked over as Bill cleared his throat before he started speaking.

"Overall this was very good. There are a few minor corrections I've made, but they are mostly spelling mistakes and structure mistakes. One point you made needs to be moved. But the spells you've chosen… They are amazing. I wouldn't have thought of most of them as being useful in a battle situation. The fact that you have used some of the unusual ones in your fights was a great addition. It shows that they can be used and that you are willing to think outside the box," Bill said encouragingly. Harry was nodding along with Bill as he spoke.

"Okay, that sounds easy enough to correct," the boy responded thoughtfully.

"Yup," Bill said cheerfully. "Why don't you start to rewrite that while I make us some dinner?"

Harry nodded as he stood up. He stretched his arms over his head, crumpling the paper in his right hand in the process. He sat back down at the kitchen table and started to correct his paper. He smiled slightly as he heard Bill banging around behind him.

An hour later Bill and Harry were sitting at the, now cleared off table, eating baked chicken, carrots and potatoes.

"This is really good Bill," Harry said quietly as he took another bite.

"Thank you, Harry," Bill said with a smile.

They fell into comfortable silence as they finished their dinner. When they both were done Harry stood and cleared the table. It took him twenty minutes to wash, dry and put away the dishes, pots and pans. He told Bill he was going to have an early night and went to bed.

Harry shot up in bed several hours later. He frantically looked around the room before his eyes settled on the clock on his bedside table. It read one thirty in the morning. He ran a shaky hand over his eyes, pretending he didn't feel the moisture. He pushed himself out of bed, grabbed his cover and padded out into the living room. Harry curled up on the closest end of the couch and pulled his blanket over himself as he drifted back to sleep.

"Harry," a soft voice said. "Harry, it's time to wake up Kiddo."

Harry opened his bright green eyes to see his big brother crouched in front of him. He was confused for a second before remembering he came out here last night. Harry nodded slightly as his eyes slid closed again. He forced them back open seconds later. Bill sighed softly from above him before Harry felt himself being lifted from the sofa. His eyes snapped open as he was cradled against his big brother's chest. Moments later he was lowered onto Bill's bed. Bill crawled carefully over him to lie down beside him. He was pulled against the red head's chest.

"We can both get a little more sleep," he murmured into the soft, silky black hair under his chin.

Harry buried closer to the older man as he ran his hand up and down his back. Within minutes he had fallen into a peaceful sleep.

Harry woke again several hours later. He sat up slowly and looked around his big brother's room in confusion for a few seconds until he remembered Bill bringing him in here earlier. Harry started to move off the bed when the door opened and Bill came in carrying a tray of food with him.

"Stay put Har," Bill said firmly. "We can both have brunch in bed."

"You didn't have to do that," Harry said, squirming slightly in embarrassment.

Bill offered him a slight smile before he told him to move over. Harry moved to the far side of the bed then Bill carefully sat beside him. He elongated the tray so it fit over both of their laps. He put some scrambled eggs, fruit, a piece of French toast and a few pieces of bacon on a plate and pushed it towards Harry.

"Wow… This looks great Bill but you didn't have to go to all this trouble," Harry said softly.

"I know I didn't have to but I wanted to," Bill replied with a smile.

Harry smiled at him as he speared a piece of fruit and popped it in this mouth. Bill laughed before he started eating his own breakfast. As they ate they talked about what they were going to do with the few days they had left before they had to return to Headquarters. Harry was going to finish his homework while Bill worked on a few odds and ends for his job and they would continue going out in the afternoons.

"Nicoli, Jesse and Ben would like to see you again, so how would you feel about them coming over tonight for dinner?" Bill asked.

Harry thought about it for a second before he tentatively smiled.

"What about Baylee?" Harry asked slowly.

"She isn't going to be here. She has plans with some friends tonight. I asked if she wanted to come but she didn't want to cancel her plans and that is fine. I figured you would be more comfortable without Baylee around. I really would like you to get to know Jesse, Nic and Ben and I think you would have an easier time of it with Baylee not here. I don't know what her problem is and I'm sorry she is taking it out on you. It's not acceptable and I won't have her around you if she can't at the very least be polite." Bill explained gently.

Harry thought about what Bill had said before he replied softly.

"I guess that would work. I don't want Baylee to be hurt because we aren't including her but…" Harry let out a shuddery sigh before continuing. "I know she doesn't like me and I'm uncomfortable around her. I want to get to know the other three though. I know they mean a lot to you."

Bill carefully wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulders and pulled him close. Harry leaned his head on his shoulder and smiled slightly.

"I love you Kiddo. You know that right?" Bill spoke softly.

Harry nodded before saying quietly "I love you too."

Bill smiled before he kissed the side of Harry's head. Harry smiled at him as he settled against his older brother. Harry smiled up at Bill before he closed his green eyes and fell into a light doze as he thought about seeing Bill's extended family tonight.

Author's Note: Thanks again for reading! I hope ya liked the chapter. I know not much happened but it would have been too long with the party. I have a bit of action in there so it should get interesting. Thank you to everyone who reviewed this story. Y'all have pushed me over 100 reviews. Thank ya so much! Until next time be happy, be healthy, be safe,

Lynn


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Author's Notes: Hey everyone, I'm so sorry this has taken so long. Once again, thanks goes to my beta Moony! I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Harry spent some of his afternoon working on his homework. Then he helped Bill start preparations for the dinner tonight with Bill's team. After they had been working in comfortable silence for almost a quarter of an hour Harry broke it to ask quietly "Do you guys do this often?"

Bill looked up from the vegetables he was cutting to look at Harry. He smiled at him as he said fondly "Yeah, we do. We have other friends here as well but we prefer to spend our time together. At work, more often than not, we are rather serious. A lot can go wrong in our jobs and most of the times it goes bad quickly so we have to be focused on what we are doing. We never _really_ know when something is cursed or rigged as a trap. So when we are off we get to relax together. It's something we look forward to. Most of the time it just Jesse and me or the two of us and Nicoli as well; Ben joins us more than Baylee does but as head Curse Breaker he has more paperwork than us to do so most of his evenings are spent working on getting us authorizations we need and compiling the reports we give him every day on what we find that day."

As Bill was speaking Harry would nod every so often to show that, while he was still working on his own preparations, he was still listening. He made quick work of the simple chief salad he was making then turned to his older brother to see if he could help with anything else. He was directed to set the recently enlarged table. After that Bill told him he had the rest covered and he could do whatever he wanted until the others came. Harry wandered into his room and pulled down his guitar. He absentmindedly played familiar songs as he let his mind wander.

Harry looked up as he heard a knock on his door. He paused his playing and bid his visitor to come in. He shrank back as the massive form of Ben came through the door. The blonde offered a smile as he said "Bill asked me to tell you that dinner is done." The older man paused then complemented sincerely "That was some good playing."

Harry ducked his head and looked at the older man through his bangs as he replied softly "Thank you."

He put his guitar back on the wall and followed the older man out to the table. He slipped into his seat beside Bill and offered a quiet greeting to the other men at the table. The others replied pleasantly. As had become habit Bill put food on Harry's plate with a soft instruction to eat it. The meal was eaten with friendly chatter going around the table. The dishes were taken care of with a few flicks of Bill's wand, deciding to give Harry a break since he was still uncomfortable with his friends. They settled into chairs in the living room. Harry eventually laid his head on Bill's shoulder, growing bored with the conversations going on around him. He felt the older man pull him closer before he fell asleep.

The next few days flew by with Harry doing homework in the morning and sightseeing in the afternoon with Bill. Before they knew it, it was time to go back to Grimmauld Place. They arrived in one of the formal sitting rooms.

"Go put your stuff in your room then find Ron and the twins. I'm sure they want to see you," Bill directed with a soft smile.

Harry nodded, turned to leave the room but paused and looked back at Bill uncertainly.

"I'll be here if you need me," Bill soothed quietly.

Harry flashed a smile at his big brother then hulled his duffel bag upstairs, dumped it in his room, then went to find either Ron or Fred and George.

Harry found Fred and George first. They were in the library bent over a book. They looked up as Harry came in and smiled at him.

"Do I want to know what you two are up to in here?" Harry asked as he walked up beside the table they were sitting at.

Fred shut the book with a dull thud before Harry could read what they were looking at.

"How long have you been here?" George asked as he got up to hug his little brother.

Harry returned the hug as he answered "Just got back."

Fred joined the two to hug Harry too.

"Do you guys know where Ron is?" Harry asked from his place squished between the twins.

"Ron, well, Hermione got tired of him ignoring her," Fred started, amusement coloring his tone.

"She cornered him after breakfast and drug him off with her," George continued not sounding as amused as his twin.

Fred sobered up as he finished for the two "He knows how to signal us if he needs rescued. We wouldn't leave him alone with her without having some way to call for backup if he needs it. She has been rather… mean lately."

"So has our little sister," George commented darkly.

Harry looked between the two before asking slightly timidly, "Do you know why? I get the feeling it's because of me."

The twins shared a dark look over Harry's head before they sighed lightly in sync. Harry looked between the two as they had a silent conversation with their eyes and slight head movements. When they finished the twins lead him over to the sofa and settled him between them. Harry looked between the two again before saying "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"No, Little Bit, I don't think you are," Fred said sadly.

"What is her and Ginny's problem?" Harry asked exasperatedly. "I didn't do anything wrong! I didn't want to talk to them. I'm not obligated to talk to them. My Godfather just died. Neither of them have no idea how that feels and they don't seem to have any empathy or sympathy at all!"

"I know," George murmured as he pulled Harry close.

Fred sighed, rubbed his eyes tiredly, then began talking in almost a monotone.

"It started almost a week after school let out. Dumbledore convinced the Grangers that the safest place for Hermione would be here. Ron and Ginny didn't go home at all, they came straight here. Anyway, Ron was worried about you, as were Bill, Charlie and us, so he wasn't spending much time with her. He was busy reading the books he told you about. So, she and Ginny spent a lot of time together. Ginny still has feelings for you, I know, you've never encouraged it. I doubt you were even aware of it. Hermione encouraged those feelings and now Ginny is convinced you want to be with her too. She wrote to another friend of hers and well… I guess a lot of students think you are dating. She's annoyed because now you aren't paying any attention to her."

Harry just looked at Fred with horrified eyes. He tried to speak several times only to have nothing come out. His breathing started to turn harsh as various scenarios ran through his head.

"Hey, hey, hey now," George whispered into the black silky mop his cheek was resting on. "Calm it down. Slow your breathing down. There is nothing to get worked up about. We know you didn't lead her on, we know you aren't interested. This isn't your fault. Now calm down. We aren't mad, Ron isn't mad, Bill and Charlie won't be mad so just calm down. Ginny had a crush, which is our mother's fault for telling her those stories that featured you and made her some sort of princess in them. You rescuing her only cemented that you two were supposedly meant to be together. That is not true. You are free to fall in love with whomever you want to. You have no obligation to her. None, do you hear me Harry James?"

Harry finally got his breathing almost completely under control, the occasional hitch the only sign that something was wrong.

"I never… I'm not interested in Ginny like that. She is your sister… I don't…" Harry trailed off, green eyes showing just how hurt he is.

"We know," Fred said soothingly as he ran his fingers through the hair at the nape of Harry's neck.

Harry let out a shaky sigh as he sagged against George.

"Why would your mother put these ideas in her head?" Harry demanded.

"Because… You know, I don't have any excuses for her," George answered quietly.

George pulled Harry closer, offering what comfort he could.

"How is Ron handling this? The Ginny thing and Hermione's part in it?" Harry inquired after several minutes of George holding him and Fred running his fingers through his hair.

"Ron is mad at them both. He is worried about you. He knows none of this is your fault," Fred responded calmly.

Harry just nodded without saying anything.

After several minutes Harry began to speak softly.

"After that whole Tournament thing… Ron's been really good about controlling his jealousy. I think he's starting to understand that my life isn't as great or as glamorous as he seemed to think it was. He's growing up and realizing what a gift you guys are, what a gift family and security and unconditional love is." Harry paused and his voice lowered to a pained whisper as his luminescent green eyes clouded with tears. "He's starting to realize what he has is something I wished for my whole life. I know I'm getting it now and I love you guys but it's still hard for me to accept because of where I come from. I'm acutely aware of the fact that I'm messed up. My past, both with my… with _those_ people and coming into this world; I'm damaged. I am so messed up and I hate it but I don't know how to fix myself! I don't want to be like this!"

"We know," Fred said soothingly. "We know."

"We are going to help you," George murmured softly. "You aren't alone anymore. We are here for you."

Harry nodded as he burrowed further into George's shoulder. The twins exchanged a look over Harry's head as they continued to hold their baby brother between them.

Harry pulled away from his brothers almost a quarter of an hour later. He looked up at the twins and said softly "I'd like to see Ron but I don't want to see Ginny or Hermione."

Fred gently detangled himself, stood and exclaimed brightly "I'm on it" and hurried out of the room. Harry turned a perplexed look on George who replied with a quick "I don't know. Don't look at me."

The two young men sat there in comfortable silence until the door opened to reveal Fred and Ron. Harry watched as a grin crossed Ron's face when he caught sight of him. He ran over and pulled Harry into a gentle hug.

"It's so good to see you again, Harry," Ron breathed into the dark hair. "I've missed you."

Harry smiled into the older boy's neck as he answered "I've missed you too. I love spending time with Bill but I did miss you guys."

They spent the next several hours talking until Bill came in and told Harry to head down to the kitchen for dinner. He needed to talk to the twins, Ron and Charlie. Harry looked up at Bill in confusion.

"Is everything okay?" He asked tentatively.

Bill offered his baby brother a comforting smile as he replied "Everything is fine. I just want to catch up with them. If you really want to you can come with us. It's been a while since breakfast, and since you didn't eat lunch, I thought you would like a small snack. Dinner is still a few hours off."

Harry thought about it and realized with a start that he was hungry. He looked up at his guardian with surprised green eyes.

"I'm actually hungry," Harry whispered, shocked.

"That is great Harry, that's really great," Bill said with a proud smile.

The rest of his brothers were smiling at him too. Harry stood to move toward the door but he was stopped three different times by Ron, Charlie and Bill giving him hugs.

"We will meet you in the kitchen in a little while. If something happens come right back here, got it Harry?" Bill directed gently.

Harry nodded as he said "Yeah. I understand."

"Okay, get yourself a snack. Something healthy preferably but if you want something sweet you may have that," Bill said gently.

Harry nodded then trotted out of the room. He was uncomfortable without any of his brothers but he firmly reminded himself that the house is his, that there is no reason to feel like he doesn't belong here. It had belonged to his Godfather and now it was his. He had every right to be here. Harry kept up his pep talk in his head as he walked down into the kitchen.

Harry peaked around the door to see the kitchen blessedly empty. Harry went over to the cold cupboard and found an apple, orange, pear, blueberries and strawberries. He pulled out a container of cream and found icing sugar, a bowl and whisk. Harry made quick work of cleaning and cutting up the fruit. He poured a little cream into the bowl and a tiny amount of icing sugar and began to whisk. A few minutes later he had a beautiful whip cream that he put on top of his fruit. He quickly cleaned up his mess then carried his bowl over to the table and settled into eat his snack.

Harry was finishing his fruit when the door opened and Hermione and Ginny walked in. Harry lowered his spoon back into the bowl. The girls stopped talking as they noticed him for the first time.

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked as she ran over to him and captured him in a hug.

Harry didn't return the hug, staying stiff in her arms. She moved only to be replaced by Ginny, who then tried to kiss him. Harry turned his head away, causing her to kiss his cheek instead.

"Harry?" She asked softly, hurt coloring her tone.

Harry narrowed green eyes at the girl.

"Why did you try to kiss me? Why did you think that would be okay?" Harry demanded coolly.

Ginny looked hurt and confused. Harry felt slightly bad but he pushed that away. There was no way he could allow her to believe that he was okay with that. He didn't want his inaction to encourage her.

"But, but we are together. We're meant to be together. We're soul mates," Ginny explained in a shaky voice.

Harry took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. He didn't want to snap at the girl since he understood this wasn't just her fault but he was getting sick of it.

"Ginny," Harry said firmly. "We are not a couple. We never will be. I do not love you. You are a friend. But that is all you are and all you will be."

Ginny's eyes filled with tears as she stared at Harry in disbelief. A shaking hand came up to cover her mouth as she let out a sob before she turned and left the room at a run.

"How could you do that?" Hermione screamed at Harry. "You hurt her so badly!"

Harry looked at Hermione through narrowed eyes. He took a deep breath before replying in a cold voice "I wasn't the one who put that idea in her head. I've never encouraged her. Hell, I didn't even know she felt like that about me until today! What would you have me do? Lead her on?"

Hermione just sniffed disapprovingly at him before turning and hurrying after the other girl.

Harry let out a loud sigh as propped his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands. He ignored the tears that stung his eyes, refusing to let them fall. He rubbed his face vigorously before he started to push himself to his feet only to stop as the door slammed open. Mrs. Weasley stormed into the room, Mr. Weasley, who had his arm wrapped around his daughter, and Hermione following behind her.

"How could you do this to Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley yelled at Harry. "The girl is in love with you and you won't even give her a chance! What's wrong with you?"

Harry sat there, at the table, surrounded by Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny, stunned. He couldn't answer as he sat there wide eyed. Ginny was sobbing softly, being comforted by both her Father and Hermione.

"Answer me, young man!" Mrs. Weasley demanded loudly as she stalked toward him.

Harry started trembling slightly as memories of his uncle replaced Mrs. Weasley. He had learned the hard way that yelling was never good. That it always meant pain for him. His eyes went hard and blank as he forced the fear into the tiny box at the back of his mind. Mrs. Weasley reached out, grabbed his shoulders and shook him. Harry didn't do anything to fight back; he knew that would make it worse. He started when a shout rang around the room.

"Mother!" Bill roared as he stalked through the door followed quickly by his enraged younger brothers. "What the bloody Hell do you think you are doing? Release him at once!"

Everyone in the room froze as the five enraged redheads spread out along the side of the table Harry was on.

"Did you not hear me?" Bill demanded in a soft, menacing tone. "I said let him go. Now, or I will make you."

Mrs. Weasley started a bit as she snapped out of it. She turned angry eyes onto her oldest son.

"How dare you speak to me like that! I am your mother, you will show me respect!" She snapped, still gripping Harry's shoulders.

"I will speak to you however I want when you are manhandling my charge. Now, for the last time. Let him go." Bill bit out between clenched teeth.

Mrs. Weasley finally released her punishing grip on Harry's shoulders. Charlie, who was the closest to Harry, standing beside Bill, reached out and gently grasped Harry's forearm to pull him next to himself. Harry flinched when Charlie touched him but allowed himself to be towed from the bench to Charlie's side. Charlie draped a gentle arm over the boy's shoulders and Harry burrowed into his side, remembering that Charlie was safe, Charlie wouldn't hurt him. He turned wide green eyes to the growing fight between Bill and his Mum.

"Don't you ever touch him again. Do you hear me? Never again!" Bill spat at the angry woman.

"I am your Mother, how dare you talk to me like that?" She raged, red faced at her oldest son. "That boy broke you little sister's heart! How can you stand there and defend him, protect him, when he has hurt her so badly?"

Bill took a deep steadying breath before he continued in a forced calm voice that fooled not one in the room.

"I defend him because it isn't his fault. I would defend him even if it was, because he is my ward, and I love the boy. He does not deserve this treatment from anyone, especially someone he should be able to trust. I can guarantee he will never trust you again, and I will never trust you with him again. As for Ginny, I do love her, she is my sister, but this is your fault. You with all those stories about her meeting him, Harry saving her, her being some sort of princess to Harry's prince. She feels like she is entitled to him because of them and because he saved her. You and Dad owe him a Life Debt as does she! What you and her can't seem to comprehend is that he owes her nothing! Not love, not friendship, not protection! Nothing! Now, if you ever lay your hands on him again…" For the first time Bill faltered, pain clear in his blue eyes before he visibly steeled himself and continued coldly. "If you ever lay your hands on him again, I will call the Aurors and have you arrested. In fact unless I or Charlie are with him you don't even speak to him. I will let you know if that changes."

Bill turned to look at Harry and the boy flinched from the cold look in the blue eyes. Bill softened his gaze as he said softly "Come on Kiddo. Guys, let's go upstairs."

The five redheads watched in dismay when Harry flinched from Bill's touch. Bill was careful to keep the comforting smile on his face as he reached for him again, very slowly this time, and was rewarded with a smaller flinch but Harry moving toward him. The older man gently guided Harry up the stairs and into his bedroom, the other four brothers following their oldest and youngest. Ron was the last one in the room so he shut the door and turned the lock. Charlie shot a ward at the door that would alarm if someone got within two feet of the door. He then shot a silencing spell at the door.

The oldest redhead turned to the youngest in the room. Harry took a step back into Fred when Bill turned to him. He clenched his jaw, closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose.

"I'm sorry," Harry said quietly. "I know you won't hurt me."

Bill reached out slowly, making sure Harry had enough time to see his hand coming, and gently stroked his cheek with the back of his fingers.

"I'm sorry, Harry." Bill said softly. "She had no right to touch you. No one has that right. Not me, not Charlie, not Fred, not George, not Ron, not anyone. I am so sorry she grabbed you like that."

Harry hesitated as he thought about what Bill had just said. It was a new concept to him. The Dursleys had considered him property, the Wizarding world considered him public property, and they thought it was their right to know everything about him. Harry looked up at the older man and nodded.

"I get it, but I'm not sure if I believe it. I've been hurt too many times, beaten down too many times…" He let out a long, tired sigh. "I just can't."

Harry turned away from Bill, only to be staring at Fred and Ron. He shook his head then bowed his head, shoulders slumping. He ignored the pain coming from his shoulders. He reached up, behind his glasses, and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He was so tired both physically and emotionally. Harry took a deep breath before admitting "I'm tired. I'm so tired of all of this crap. I just want to be left alone. Why is that so hard? Why can't people just leave me the bloody hell alone?"

Bill let out a tired sigh of his own before reaching out to cup the back of Harry's neck then pulled the boy in close to him, resting the dark head on his shoulder. Harry snuggled into the strong shoulder beneath his head.

"Come on," Bill whispered into his ear. "I'm going to get the others to clear out for a while and we'll get you into bed for a nap. How's that sound?"

Harry just nodded, only vaguely aware of what was going on around him. He went where he was guided, trusting Bill more than he thought he was able to trust anyone anymore. Bill helped him pull off his shirt and Bill sucked in a deep, sharp breath. Harry forced himself to focus after that, not quite sure what had surprised Bill so much. His older brother's gaze was flitting between both his shoulders. For the first time he noticed that they were sore. He looked over to the right to his right shoulder to see a darkening bruise. He checked the other shoulder to see the same thing. Harry turned shocked eyes onto his big brother. Bill gently ran his hand through the mop of ebony hair as he summoned some bruise cream. He caught the small bottle with the same hand that held his wand. He gently applied the cream to each shoulder, and then eased him down onto the bed and pillows. Harry smiled faintly as Bill pulled the blanket up over him. Harry closed his eyes as his big brother ran a long fingered hand through his hair. He felt his eyes closing and allowed himself to drift. The room was quiet for a while until he heard Charlie's voice talking to Bill. Bill asked Charlie to stay with him while he went to have some words with their mother.

Harry drifted in and out of sleep as he listened to Charlie mumble to himself about overbearing mothers, immature sisters who can't tell fairytales from reality and feeble fathers who cannot stand up for a child who is being hurt. He must have dozed for a bit because the next thing he heard was Bill telling Charlie that their mother was rather indifferent to the fact that she left bruises on a child. Charlie let out a low growl from the back of his throat.

"How can she not care?" The bigger man spat out.

"I don't know. Mum… I think she is upset because she wanted Ginny's life to go a certain way and now it's not going to. She is being irrational. You know what she is like when things don't go her way. She doesn't like seeing Ginny upset, but really she has no one to blame for that but herself. Ginny does bare some of the blame, she is old enough to understand that someone might not return her feelings. She needs to deal with that and move on. I'm sorry she is upset but now, now Harry is my first priority," Bill said wearily.

There was a pause before Charlie said slowly "You know what you were getting into when you accepted, fought, for guardianship of him. You don't regret that do you?"

"No!" Bill said vehemently. "Not at all. He is worth it all. I just am sorry that it's causing a rift in our family. I'm pretty sure it would have happened anyway. Even if I wouldn't have taken Harry in he still wouldn't have wanted to be with Ginny. My taking him in didn't change that. I would have still sided with Harry. Wouldn't you?"

"Yes," Charlie said firmly. "He deserves to be with someone he wants to. They both deserve to be with someone who loves them. Not some relationship that is based on infatuation and apathy. That's what it would be. Neither deserves that."

"No," Bill said softly. "They don't."

Harry tried to focus more on what they were saying, he knew it was wrong but he wanted to hear it, but he found himself drifting off. Harry came awake slowly. The room was quiet. He could hear the scratch of a quill on parchment and soft breathing but nothing else. He made a soft sound as he tried to move and pain lanced across his shoulders. The scratching stopped and footsteps crossed the room. A warm hand settled on his forehead, brushing his hair back off his face.

"Shh, baby brother," Bill murmured gently. "It's okay. I'm here. You're okay."

Harry felt himself settling back into the bed, the soothing motion sending him back to sleep.

Author's Notes: Hey y'all! I'm sorry it has been so long. Life and writer's block kind of got away from me. I intend to have this story, as well as Flight, if you happen to read that one too, done by the end of the year. I don't really know where I am taking this. I believe this will only span the length of summer. Thank you for sticking with me and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! For those of you who celebrate, Happy Easter! Until next time be happy, be healthy, be safe,

Lynn


End file.
